Planning For Our Seas
20th December 2012
A plan will be prepared next year to guide development activity in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters.
The Government Directorate Marine Scotland, Orkney Islands Council and The Highland Council have set up a working group to take forward the project and are encouraging stakeholders to get involved in the development of the plan.
The Plan Scheme can be downloaded from the Marine Scotland website that sets out how the Marine Spatial Plan will be developed and shows how stakeholders can take part in the process.
The Highland Council recently approved the Plan Scheme and speaking on the proposed plan Councillor Thomas Prag, Chairman of the Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee said: “We are delighted to be jointly working with Marine Scotland and Orkney Islands Council on the preparation of the draft marine spatial plan for the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters. There is now an important opportunity for stakeholders to become engaged in the plan making process, which will allow for the appropriate consideration of competing interests in the area. I encourage all with an interest in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters to get involved.”
Local Highland Councillor Roger Saxon attended a recent information day hosted by the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Leadership Forum, in the Pentland Hotel Thurso. He said: “This is excellent news for communities in Caithness and Orkney. The published plan will acknowledge the aspirations of the marine renewable energy sector in this important region of Scotland and will facilitate progress in the sector in a sustainable manner.”
The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters are the location for the world’s first leasing round for commercial wave and tidal energy projects. In total, the Crown Estate has agreements with developers for 12 marine renewable energy projects within the area.
The organisations involved in preparing the plan will examine how future development, including wave and tidal projects, can be delivered in ways that balance the needs of other users of the seas and which ensure that the marine environment is protected.
They will look at the requirements of the marine renewable energy sector, inshore fisheries, aquaculture, shipping and navigation, the oil and gas industries, recreation by local people and visitors, and tourism.
When completed in 2014, the pilot plan will be used to inform marine development decision making in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters.
To find out more about the development of the plan and how to get involved, please visit www.scotland.gov.uk (search for ‘Plan Scheme 2012’, click on Pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan The Plan Scheme 2012 then go to Associated Downloadable Documents).
The Plan Scheme document contains a list of agencies, organisations, businesses and individuals with an interest in the development of the Marine Spatial Plan. Anyone who would like to be added to the stakeholder database please contact PFOWmarinespatialplan[AT]scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Members have considered an update on the Council's medium term financial plan and the impact of the UK and Scottish Governments’ budgets on the coming year’s funding settlement. The position is currently looking more positive than initially planned for, however more detail needs to be worked through.
In November, The Highland Council launched a public statutory consultation to seek views on the proposed introduction of a Visitor Levy scheme across the Highlands. The Council has announced an extension to this consultation period, which will now give businesses, visitors and communities until 31 March 2025, an additional seven weeks, to take part and have their say.
In the light of the financial forecast for 2025-26, Highland Council is inviting you to tell us more in the budget preparation for the coming financial year. The budget engagement builds on extensive budget participation which took place in the winter of 2023-24.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Every year Highland Council invites all tenants to have their say on the rent levels for the following year. The Council encourages everyone that lives in a council house to take this chance to have their say.
Communities and Place Committee met yesterday (Wednesday 27 November 2024) and Members agreed the Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report which includes actions for delivery in 2024/25. Reducing child poverty is a priority for the Council and its partners.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Members of the Highland Council's Community and Place Committee have given their support to an action plan focusing on the operating of public conveniences over the next 10 years. Whilst not a statutory function, the Council is the main provider of public conveniences located throughout Highland, operating 74 sites.
A report published on 27 November 2024 by LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) looks at the state of funding for councils by the Scottish Government. Confidence in the sustainability of council finances is critically low.
At today's (Wednesday 27 November 2024) Communities & Place Committee, Members agreed the most appropriate long-term strategic direction for residual waste management is to continue to utilise a merchant provider solution. Communities & Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: "After careful consideration and analysis it has been agreed that a merchant provider solution is considered the most appropriate long term solution to our statutory waste management obligations, and that an energy-from- waste facility within the Highlands is not considered to be a suitable course of action.
