Offshore wind energy - draft updated sectoral marine plan 2025: consultation analysis report

Appendix C: Consultation Events

Engagement was undertaken as part of the public consultation with 20 consultation events held during June to August 2025, comprising 17 in-person events held across Scotland and three online events. Details of the events were advertised in the local and national press, as well as via Scottish Government social media pages, newsletters and direct mailing to key stakeholders.

These consultation events were run in accordance with the Statement of Public Participation which was published on 7 May 2025.

The objectives of these events were to:

• Raise awareness of the sectoral marine planning process and ensure that interested parties’ views and knowledge are taken into account;
• Raise awareness of the draft updated Plan and development process;
• Explain how Scottish Government have assessed the potential economic, social and environmental impacts of the draft updated Plan;
• Raise awareness of the statutory consultation process, encourage participation and outline how to provide response(s);
• Answer queries regarding the draft updated Plan and supporting documents; and
• Outline next steps.

In-person events took the format of an open drop-in session, held between 12:00 and 18:00 each day, followed by a presentation and Question and Answer (Q&A) session between 18:00 and 21:00. The online events presented an overview of the draft updated Plan and the key findings of each of the plan-level assessments. Q&A sessions were held, supported by consultants ABPmer and RPA, who were responsible for preparing the supporting assessments.

Hard copies of all documents were made available on request and events were staffed by officials from the Offshore Wind Directorate. In addition, some consultation events were attended by staff from Crown Estate Scotland. Consultants ABPmer and RPA were available at the Edinburgh and online events.

The events were attended by a range of individuals representing different sectors, organisations as well as members of the public.

Information on the consultation events including the location, date and the number of attendees per event is detailed in Table 6.

The location of the in-person events, and the Option Areas included in the draft updated Plan, is shown in Figure 5. Events were held across coastal communities neighbouring the five planning regions established in the SMP-OWE.

The West Region (encompassing OAs W1 and IN5) had events in Islay, Oban and Colonsay. The North Region (encompassing OAs N1, N2, N3 and N4) had events in Ullapool, Carloway, Stornoway, Kinlochbervie and Thurso). The North East Region (encompassing OAs NE2, NE3, NE4, NE6, NE7, NE8, IN1, IN2, IN3, TOG6, TOG7, TOG8 and TOG9) had events in Kirkwall, Inverness, Buckie and Peterhead. The Shetland Region (encompassing OAs NE1A, NE

Key issues in relation to Sectoral Marine Planning raised at each event are summarised below. This provides an overview of topics of interest across the different consultation events and has not been considered in the analysis included within this report. Only feedback received in consultation responses provided via the methods outlined in Section 2.3.7 are considered in the consultation analysis and in informing the finalisation of the updated Plan.

Inverness:

• Reforms to the Habitats Regulations
• Marine Recovery Fund implementation

Thurso

• No attendees

Kirkwall, Orkney

• Need for better representation of island communities in planning
• Need for clarity on how storage and maintenance of devices is being managed

Online (11 June)

• Consideration of any new or emerging evidence in the planning and assessment process
• Need for clarity on how storage and maintenance of devices is being considered
• Clarification of proposed parameters set out for any future T&D projects

Carloway, Isle of Lewis

• Concerns regarding visual impacts and knock-on effects this could have on the community and tourism industry
• Need for better community involvement/representation in decision making
• Questions around standards for developer-led engagement

Ullapool

• Interest in sectoral plan for tidal energy
• Process for delivery of strategic compensation measures

Kinlochbervie

• Concerns regarding impacts and planning of transmission infrastructure
• Consideration of salmon and migratory fish in environmental impact assessments
• Consideration of impacts to commercial fisheries and need to consider these cumulatively

Edinburgh

• Questions regarding how project-level information has been considered in plan-level assessments
• Need for consideration of decommissioning in impact assessments
• Need for clarity around plan-level mitigation and compensation delivery
• Need for stronger engagement with fisheries stakeholders
• Questions regarding quantitative assessment for Habitats Regulations Appraisal and how industry data will be used to inform this

Aberdeen

• Concerns regarding delays to grid connection dates for proposed ScotWind and INTOG projects
• Questions regarding relationship between plan and project-level applications and monitoring requirements
• Consideration of cumulative impacts to aviation and radar in social and economic impact assessment
• Questions regarding impacts to commercial fisheries and how these may be mitigated/compensated

Peterhead

• Concerns regarding impacts to commercial fisheries
• Consideration of alignment with terrestrial planning for transmission infrastructure
• Questions regarding high number of Option Areas on east coast compared to west coast

Buckie

• Overall support for existing offshore wind development and local employment opportunities this has provided
• Concerns regarding impacts to seabirds and marine mammals
• Concerns regarding unknown scale of impacts to coastal erosion and physical processes

Pittenweem

• Concerns regarding cumulative impacts to seabirds with Berwick Bank project
• Concerns regarding cumulative impacts to commercials fisheries with existing and planned developments
• Need for stronger and more transparent monitoring of impacts of development post-construction
• Concerns regarding unknown impacts of cables and transmission infrastructure on fish stocks

Islay

• Concerns regarding visual impacts
• Need for clarity around community benefit funds and associated opportunities
• Concerns regarding potential impacts to ferry services to/from Northern Ireland

Dundee

• General questions about offshore wind development in Scotland and planning process

Oban

• Need for better representation of communities in decision-making
• Need for consideration of environmental impacts of fisheries displacement

Colonsay

• Concerns regarding visual impacts, and need for consideration of impacts during both night and day
• Need for better representation of communities in decision-making
• Questions regarding consideration of sound, light and noise pollution in environmental assessment

Stornoway, Isle of Lewis

• Concerns regarding visual impacts and potential knock-on effects to local tourism
• Concerns regarding environmental impacts, including to marine mammals, seabirds and National Scenic Areas
• Reports of stress in local community due to proposed industrialisation of island
• Concerns regarding impacts to local cultural heritage and Gaelic speaking communities
• Concerns regarding impacts of transmission infrastructure, particularly to peatland
• Questions around investment opportunities in offshore versus port infrastructure

Online (16 July)

• Concerns regarding sequencing of plan development against projects receiving consent
• Questions around proposed parameters for T&D projects and how these can be refined further
• Need for consideration of community benefits opportunities outwith/in addition to community benefit funds
• Consideration of benefits of in-migration into rural communities in socioeconomic impact assessments
• Need for clarity around potential financial compensation mechanisms for affected fishers

Lerwick, Shetland

• Concerns that 200MW of T&D projects is too high for the Shetland region
• Concerns regarding environmental impacts, particularly to seabirds and marine mammals
• Concerns regarding potential for increased demand on ferry services
• Concerns regarding loss of access to productive fishing grounds
• Concerns regarding unknown impacts of development of mackerel and herring migratory routes

Online (11 August)

• Questions regarding refinement of assessment to fisheries impact
• Need for more clarity around T&D parameters and mitigation measures
• Need for clarity regarding balance of environmental and socioeconomic factors in decision making
• Need for stronger mitigation measures for socioeconomic (particularly fishing) impacts