On the 24th July 2014 30 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were designated in accordance with the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (for the Scottish inshore MPAs) and the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (for the offshore MPAs). 17 of the MPAs, recommended by Scottish Natural Heritage, have been designated in Scotland’s territorial (inshore) waters, and a further 13, recommended […]
The National Infrastructure Planning website has details of the following major infrastructure projects in the coastal or marine area of North West England. Click on the project names below to go the the National Infrastructure Planning website page for each project. Projects go through a range of stages and these are explained in brief below: […]
Two consultations are currently open on aspects of bringing the Offshore Safety Directive (OSD) 2013/30/EU into UK law. Both consultations close on 21st September 2014. The OSD, which applies to offshore waters out to the limit of UK jurisdiction, aims to reduce the potential for major accidents offshore and improve safety standards. When an incident […]
The Welsh Government is currently seeking views on the draft Vision and Objectives for the Welsh National Marine Plan and its proposed structure. A full formal consultation on the completed draft Welsh National Marine Plan will be held in early 2015. Further information on the consultation and how to respond to it can be found […]
A consultation on monitoring proposals for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive took place earlier this year. The Government has now published a summary of the comments with their responses. In addition the ‘UK Marine Strategy Part Two: UK Marine Monitoring Programmes’ has now been finalised and published. There will be a further consultation covering proposals for the UK Programme of Measures […]
The latest edition of the North West Regional Monitoring Programme’s newsletter – North West Coast News – has been published. It aims to provide news on progress of the programme, spotlight specific issues and provide an outline programme of upcoming monitoring, reporting and events across the region. This issue reflects the impacts of the winter storms and […]
The Crown Estate has announced that it has agreed to a request from Celtic Array Ltd to terminate its offshore wind agreement for the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone site enabling DONG Energy and Centrica to stop development activity. Head of Offshore Wind at the Crown Estate, Huub den Rooijen, said “We have confirmed the developers’ assessment of […]
Arnsdale and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership has published a new AONB Management Plan for 2014-2019. The new management plan presents an upgrade from previous published plans in 2004 and 2009. The new management plan aims to protect and enhance the natural integrity of the AONB in accordance with the Delivery Plan. To […]
The Solway Firth Partnership has issued their spring/summer 2014 newsletter which can be viewed following the link below. The contents of the newsletter includes the work of Solway Coast AONB Community Volunteer Group, the Coast Project – what the tide’s brought in, invasion of non-native species in Solway, food sources around Solway coast, exploring Sabellaria […]
Halton Council have been successful in their lease application to the Crown Estate for a foreshore area within the Mersey Estuary.The area is to be utilized within the £600 million Mersey Gateway Bridge Project. The leased area is valued at £800,000 within a single payment. Construction of the bridge is part of the Mersey Gateway Project, […]