Marine & Coastal Access Act (2009)
Introduction
The Marine and Coastal Access Bill received Royal Assent on 12
November 2009.
The British Marine Federation worked tirelessly to ensure that
the industry’s voice was heard by politicians and policymakers as
the Bill took shape.
After the Bill received Royal Assent, Prime Minister Gordon
Brown said:
“This historic, ground-breaking legislation fulfils the
Government’s 2005 commitment to introduce a new framework for
managing the demands we put on our seas, improve marine
conservation, and open up access for the public to the English
coast.
I would like to thank all of you who have dedicated so much time
and energy to producing this excellent Act and look forward to your
help in implementing it.”
Main Issues in the Bill
Maintenance Dredging
Maintenance dredging is the removal of
accumulated sediments from harbour channels and berths to ensure a
safe depth of water for navigational purposes and the removal of
sediment to restore an adequate flow of water to mitigate risk of
flooding or protect a sensitive habitat.
Dredging is an issue of vital importance to
coastal marine businesses. Regular maintenance dredging is
essential for the ongoing viability of coastal marinas and
boatyards. These small firms consider the current licensing regime
to be bureaucratic, costly and time consuming.
In the Draft Marine Bill, the explanatory
notes stated that low risk dredging activities, such as maintenance
dredging, would become exempt under the new Bill. Although the
M&CA Bill allows the removal of licensable marine activities,
there is still no definitive statement of intent to exempt such
forms of dredging after they become licensable, 12 months from the
Bill gaining Royal Assent.
The BMF wholeheartedly supports the principle
of exempting vital dredging activities from licensing. This
would be a positive regulatory reform measure that will remove a
significant cost and bureaucratic burden from coastal businesses,
the vast majority of which are small and medium sized
enterprises.
Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs)
Defra has included provisions in Part 5 of the Bill, which
enable Ministers to designate and protect a new type of marine
protected area, to be called Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs). MCZs
will exist alongside European marine sites (SACs and SPAs), to form
a marine protected areas network. Existing Marine Nature Reserves
at Lundy and Skomer will be converted into MCZs.
MCZs will protect areas covering the habitats and species which
exist in our seas. They will be both large enough, and close enough
together, to support functioning communities of marine wildlife.
They will be used to protect areas that are important to conserve
the diversity of rare, threatened and representative habitats and
species.
The BMF supports the development of MCZs, if
they are designated using sound scientific evidence and take full
account of the socio-economic impact they could have on local
communities. Before being able to offer its full support for the
current proposals the BMF would like to see more detail on the ways
in which MCZs will affect existing users and developers of the
marine area.
There is currently no detail on where MCZs
will be established or on how many there could be. The Government
has amended the Bill during the Lords stages with measures aimed at
ensuring the zones form a joined up network and it is thought that
up to 30% of the UK coast could be designated.
DEFRA is due to issue a three month formal
consultation on the issue; however the passage of the Marine and
Coastal Access Bill offers the chance to strike the right balance
now between protecting the environment and respecting the rights of
sea users.
Coastal Access
The establishment of
a coastal route around the UK is welcomed by the BMF as it could
boost tourism in coastal regions and lead to greater user
participation in boating activities. However, the BMF believes that
diversions around commercial developments are essential due to
concerns over health and safety and security at these sites. The
Government has accepted in debates in the House of Lords that sites
such as marinas and boatyards operate heavy machinery which could
pose a health and safety risk and also frequently contain high
value equipment that could be put at risk through unfettered
access.
Latest Consultations - Secondary legislation
Please visit the consultation
page for all the latest consultations
Further Information & Downloads
For further information on the issues
covered, or on the BMF’s wider position on the Marine and Coastal
Access (M&CA) Bill, please contact Howard Pridding, Executive
Director, at hpridding@britishmarine.co.uk
or on 01784 223638.