Marine planning: managing development in our seas and coastlines

Last updated: 2 July 2025

Marine planning was introduced by the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. It contains high-level objectives agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Marine planning came about from the need to protect our seas and the marine environment from the competing demands of marine activities and development. It establishes a regime for managing our seas sustainably.  

Marine Scotland is a Directorate of the Scottish Government that, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, has the primary responsibility for marine planning and licensing for: 
 

• Scottish ‘inshore waters’ (Mean High Water Springs (MHWS) out to 12 nautical miles), under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010  

• and Scottish ‘offshore waters’ (offshore waters extend from 12 to 200 nautical miles) under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009   

The town and country planning system covers all land inland from Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS), so there is an overlap with marine planning in the area known as the intertidal zone between MHWS and MLWS. Marine fish farming falls within town and country planning rather than marine planning.  

In Scotland, marine planning activities are undertaken nationally, regionally and for specific sectors. There are eleven Scottish Marine Regions which cover sea areas extending out to 12 nautical miles. The Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy published in 2020, identifies sustainable plan options for the development of commercial-scale offshore wind energy in Scotland. 

The Scottish Government Planning Circular 1/2015 on the ‘relationship between the statutory land use planning system and marine planning and licensing’ provides guidance on how land use planning and marine planning should interact. 

The Scottish Government website provides a useful overview of marine planning and marine plans in Scotland.  

The UK Marine Policy Statement (MPS) adopted by the UK Government and the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, provides the framework for both preparing marine plans and making decisions affecting the marine environment. The MPS and marine plans form a plan-led system for marine activities in the same way that the National Planning Framework (NPF) and local development plans do for land-based development.  

Scotland’s first statutory marine plan, the National Marine Plan (NMP), was adopted in 2015 and its policies set out how marine resources are to be used and managed. The NMP also sets the wider context for marine planning in Scotland, including what should be considered when creating regional marine plans and sectoral marine plans. The plan supports development and activity in Scotland’s seas while incorporating environmental protection into marine decision-making to achieve sustainable management of marine resources.  

The policies and objectives of the NMP are to be reflected in Regional Marine Plans (RMPs) developed by Marine Planning Partnerships. They allow more local ownership and decision making about specific issues within their area. There are currently two Marine Planning Partnerships – the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership and the Shetland Isles Marine Planning Partnership 

Marine Planning Partnerships must monitor and review plans every three years to check that policies are still effective and progress is being made to meet the objectives of the plan and the Marine Policy Statement. They must produce and publish three year progress reports and if a review shows that changes are needed, further public consultation will be carried out. 

An effective time to get involved in marine planning is during the preparation and review of marine plans. Two statutory reviews of the National Marine Plan have been undertaken, in 2018 and 2021, which led to preparations for the National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2). The Statement of Public Participation at Annex 4 of the Scottish Government’s NMP2 engagement strategy set out how and when the public could get involved in the preparation of the draft plan.  

The last public consultation and engagement on the draft NMP2 and Sustainability Appraisal documents took place during summer 2024, but there may be opportunities to influence it when the plan is reviewed. 

The public can also participate in the preparation of Regional Marine Plans (RMPs). Details of the two RMPs, which are at different stages of preparation, can be found here. The public consultation periods for the draft RMPs have now closed, so the next public engagement opportunities will be when the plans are reviewed (every three years) – details will be published on the Marine Planning Partnerships’ websites.