Offshore wind energy - draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan: partial business and regulatory impact assessment
The purpose of the business and regulatory impact assessment for the draft updated Sectoral Marine Plan for offshore wind energy is to determine where the implementation of the Plan may have impacts on regulatory processes.
Section 2: Engagement and information gathering
Engagement approach
The existing SMP-OWE was subject to two rounds of public consultation, one on the broader areas of search (“scoping” stage) and one on the proposed draft Plan Options (the suggested sites to be leased to developers). Through the marine planning process, the updated SMP-OWE will be subject to a public consultation on the draft Plan and associated assessments.
As set out in the “Initial Plan Framework” for the INTOG planning round, the broad areas of search were subject to a public consultation in 2021. Through the updated SMP-OWE, the specific locations will be available for public consultation as part of the draft Plan and associated assessments.
Additionally, the SMP-OWE development process is supported by a cross-sectoral Steering Group, feeding into the plan-level statutory assessments ahead of the public consultation. This group has been given opportunities to comment on the data used, the methodologies and the conclusions of the assessments, including the plan-level social and economic impact assessment.
Internal SG engagement/ engagement with wider Public Sector
Internal SG engagement (within Government)
Furthermore, internal meetings between the Sectoral Marine Planning team and MD-LOT take place on ad-hoc and weekly basis, to ensure there is frequent communication between teams during the process of updating the SMP-OWE to ensure there is alignment between workstreams.
As part of assessing impacts on regulatory frameworks, a targeted meeting between colleagues in the Sectoral Marine Planning team and MD-LOT was arranged, where background information on the BRIA purposes were shared, and questions were asked (Annex C).
Senior colleagues from MD-LOT provided feedback during this meeting and a meeting minute was agreed upon, which provided evidence to support the analysis of impacts on regulatory processes for this partial focused-BRIA.
Wider Public Sector
Impacts to other parts of the public sector and resource requirements due to the updated Plan are covered in the SEIA. Various public bodies are represented in the Steering Group, where information regarding the development of the updated Plan are communicated with stakeholders. These include:
- Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (“COSLA”)
- NatureScot
- Crown Estate Scotland (“CES”)
- Statutory consultees (Historic Environment Scotland (“HES”), Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (“SEPA”))
- Northern Lighthouse Board
- Civil Aviation Authority
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- Electricity System Operator (“ESO”)
- UK Chamber of Shipping
- North Sea Transition Authority
- National Electricity Systems Operator
- South of Scotland Enterprise (“SOSE”)
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland (“RSPB”)
- UK Government (DESNZ, Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“MCA”), Ministry of Defence (“MOD”))
The partial focused-BRIA, alongside the draft updated SMP-OWE and associated assessments will be subject to a 12 week consultation period, at which point other public bodies will be invited to comment. Local authorities will be notified by Scottish Government on the public consultation opening date and will have opportunity to comment on the partial focused-BRIA during this time.
The existing SMP-OWE 2020 is used in various capacities by local authorities. Local authorities are consulted by MD-LOT on applications for projects adjacent to their relevant area and may refer to existing marine planning documents to inform any representation.
The existing SMP-OWE 2020 has also been used in the development of Shetland Island Council’s Energy Development Principles, a set of principles designed to be promoted to existing and future energy developers and those involved in the regulatory processes. These implementation measures are not expected to change as a result of the publication of an updated SMP-OWE.
Public consultation
The SEA of the draft updated Plan has been undertaken in compliance with the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (the ‘2004 Regulations’)[2]. The SEA also aligns with the requirements of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’)[3], and has followed Scottish Guidance on SEA. This would therefore place a requirement to consult on the environmental impacts of the draft updated SMP-OWE. The purpose of the wider consultation is to collect and understand the views of individuals and organisations on the potential impacts and opportunities of offshore wind deployment across Scotland. The draft updated Plan and assessments will be available during the consultation, at which time, online and in-person events will be held, with officials supporting on responses.
To promote and target specific audiences, such as marine users that may be impacted most by the updated SMP-OWE, in-person events will be hosted across Scotland during the consultation period. Locations will be chosen based on stakeholder relevance and feedback received from the previous SMP-OWE consultation in 2020. The consultation will be published on the Citizen Space platform and as a publication on the Scottish Government website. Citizen Space[4] is an online platform which enables respondents to access consultation papers and respond online, and allow for responses to be published alongside the consultation report in one place.
As the relevant regulatory body, MD-LOT's advice has been sought throughout the development of the draft Updated SMP-OWE.