SUMMARY/PURPOSE
1.
To advise Full Council of the content and timescale
for the proposed Marine Bill and to recommend an appropriate response to the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
BACKGROUND
2.
A proposed Marine Act represents an opportunity to
secure more sustainable use and exploitation of our coastal and marine
environments. The Marine Bill will
introduce new powers for the protection of the marine environment as well as
addressing a number of other coastal-related issues. These include improvements to the various consents processes for
marine activities managed by government departments, measures to enable marine
spatial planning, the possible establishment of a new ‘Marine management
organisation’ and a mechanism for establishing a statutory role for integrated
coastal zone management (ICZM).
3.
Local authorities already have many interests in the
marine environment. Planning
authorities consider applications for consent to undertake various works in the
sea (for example coastal and flood defences, piers, harbours, moorings, marinas
and other works). Local authorities
also have many other powers and duties, for example as coast protection
authorities as well as managing coastal water sports, bathing, passenger
vessels (licensing powers), fisheries including extensive powers through the
Sea Fisheries Committees, public health in relation to shell fisheries,
emergency response relating to oil spill clean up, navigation under the Harbour
Acts and related legislation and nature conservation contributing to the
management of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Local Nature Reserves and
European Marine Sites; importantly also local authorities are major coastal
landowners who often play a leading role in terms of tourism and economic
development including coastal town regeneration.
4.
Over the past twenty five years local authorities have
also provided leadership and support for coastal and estuary management
partnerships and networks in order to provide a co-ordinated and integrated
approach to managing the coast and to aid the consultation and dissemination
processes. Finally, and importantly,
local authorities are the legitimate democratic voice for the coastal
communities.
5.
The Coastal Manager of the Isle of Wight Council on
behalf of the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interests Group has
been playing an active role in the development of the Marine Bill and has
identified a number of key areas that it believes should be addressed through
the new Bill, these include:
·
the importance of statutory marine spatial planning
being fully integrated with terrestrial spatial planning;
·
the possible extension of local authority jurisdiction
into inshore waters;
·
statutory duties and powers for local authorities and
relevant bodies to encourage more effective integrated management and planning for
the coast;
·
the designation of ‘priority coastal and marine areas’
of national, regional and local importance;
·
the commissioning of a five year research and
technological development programme in order to fill the information gaps
relating to coastal management and climate change;
·
consideration of the creation of a single marine
management organisation with a role which could range from a full regulatory
and enforcement body to a purely advisory body.
6.
The Local Government Association is considering these
issues with the assistance of its consultants Atkins who have also prepared a
‘stocktake’ of coastal issues for Defra, the lead government department for
coastal zone management.
The
future of coast protection
7.
A further consideration is that the Marine Bill may
provide the possible legislative vehicle for any rationalisation of flood and
coastal defence functions. Defra has
suggested that one model for the future would be to transfer the coast
protection function from local authorities to the Environment Agency. This move is opposed by the Local Government
Association, which confirmed recently its strong desire for maritime local
authorities to retain their rights to exercise their coast protection powers
and to retain a key role in the delivery of the coast protection service in
England. Furthermore, the LGA would
only support new government models for the delivery of flood and coastal
defence if the key role of local authorities is retained.
8.
The LGA believes that local authorities should also
retain their leading role in the preparation of shoreline management (coastal
defence) plans. This is particularly
important in contributing to local development frameworks. Taking account of the wide ranging interests
of local authorities in the coastal zone, it is not felt that the same level of
interest would be obtained if the function was transferred to the Environment
Agency (EA). The EA are specialists in
the field of flood defence and do not have relevant coast protection
experience. The most effective model for
future delivery of the coast protection function is through the involvement of
maritime district councils/unitary authorities as the ‘operating authorities’
within an overarching framework providing a strategic dimension through the Regional
Coastal Defence Groups (such as SCOPAC).
A key issue for flood and coastal defence policy is sustainability and
local authorities are assisting in this process currently in four ways. First, by leading most of the coastal groups
supported by the Environment Agency, English Nature and other interested
parties. Second, by leading the
shoreline management plan initiative.
Third, by informing the statutory planning process providing much
improved information on coastal defence for colleagues in strategic planning
and development control departments. It
should be noted that local authorities do of course undertake a very broad
range of functions, many of which are inextricably linked with the coastal
zone. These responsibilities range from
planning to construction and maintenance of coastal highways and footpaths, to
water quality, food safety, coastal defence itself in terms of new works,
monitoring and studies of coastal processes, tourism, leisure and seafront
amenities, emergency planning, oil spill response and addressing maritime
incidences as well as offshore dredging.
9.
Importantly
also local authorities have a leading role to play in terms of economic
regeneration of coastal towns, many of which require substantial investment and
it is worth bearing in mind that seafront esplanades, seawalls and beaches are
often the ‘shop window’ for that particular resort. Alongside all these functions local authorities are often major
coastal landowners and have responsibility for all aspects of maintenance and
public safety. Topics such as tourism,
beach quality and use and coastal aesthetics are closely linked to the design
and implementation of the full range of coastal defence measures (eg. seawalls,
groynes, beach replenishment).
10.
Furthermore, it is not believed that the Environment
Agency would have the same interest in integrating coastal defence,
particularly on our seafronts and esplanades, with other regeneration and
funding opportunities.
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
11.
Wise decision-making on the coast can only be achieved
if it is based upon an understanding of geology, natural coastal evolution and
coastal processes. This is all the more
important because leading coastal scientists have predicted that coastal erosion
and sea level rise will result in changes to coastal and cliff behaviour that
have seen no parallel over the historic time period. Strategic coastal defence plans (called shoreline management
plans) together with more detailed coastal defence strategy studies provide the
necessary supporting information and coastal risk management framework to
inform the Island Plan, in terms of contributing to both the spatial vision and
objectives as well as core policies.
Shoreline management plans bring together research into coastal erosion,
coastal landsliding and flood risk in an integrated way in order to support the
planning system but looking ahead over a one hundred year timeframe
12.
More widely, what has become known as ‘integrated
coastal zone management’ (ICZM) is a concept that aims to bring together
organisations and interests relating to the coast to their mutual
advantage. All EU Member States are
required to submit their national strategies for ICZM to the European
Commission by February 2006.
13.
The Council’s ‘Aim High’ strategy is supported
precisely by coastal management initiatives and the possible content of the
Marine Bill in relation to:
·
‘Council planning policies to promote sustainable
business development’;
·
‘Improvements in strategic planning process’ (inputs
from coastal management in terms of natural risks);
·
‘Having a robust economic infrastructure that is in
balance with the environment (including ‘producing a sustainable planning
framework’);
·
‘Reducing the
risks to the public from the hazards of erosion and landslides through
successful delivery of the shoreline management plan round two’;
·
‘Improving the value and quality of tourism’;
·
‘Entire coast
protected by sustainable coastal defence policy’;
·
‘Impacts on coastal highway network and development
and potential development sites’.
·
‘Upgrading gardens, piers and esplanades and
the general public realm’;
·
‘Sign up to the Nottingham Declaration on climate
change and adopt and implement a Council-wide policy on climate change’;
(Source: ‘Aim High’
October 2005)
14.
It is also important to recognise that coastal
research and monitoring contributes to safe use of coastal public highways and
the protection of life and property along eroding frontages and within coastal
landslide systems on extensive frontages of the Isle of Wight coastline.
CONSULTATION
15.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) has been consulting local authorities together with the Local
Government Association on its future water management strategy entitled ‘Making
space for water’. The Coastal Manager
has responded to Defra in his role as Technical Chairman of the Standing
Conference on Problems Associated with the Coastline (SCOPAC) and as Chairman
of the Coastal Groups of England and Wales.
Since then Defra has arranged consultations and workshops on the
emerging Marine Bill which is expected to be put before Parliament by the end
of 2006.
16.
The question of loss of democratic input is
particularly important to local authorities.
The recent regionalisation of the Flood Defences Committees has been
criticised in this respect.
Furthermore, in 1998 the House of Commons Agriculture Committee on
‘Flood and Coastal Defence’ said, in the context of the possible transfer of
the coast protection function away from local authorities “were this to come
about there would be considerable disadvantages in terms of political
accountability especially at a Regional and Local level”.
FINANCIAL/BUDGET
IMPLICATIONS
17.
Whilst the government has funded the preparation of
shoreline management plans and coastal defence strategy studies, there has been
no government funding for the various coastal management groups and estuaries
fora (such as the Solent Forum and the Isle of Wight Estuary
Partnerships). Now that Defra has taken
on the lead role for both coastal management and coastal defence it would seem
an ideal opportunity for the government to fund the wider coastal management
remit of local authorities in the same way that they have provided the
resources for coastal defence.
18.
With regard to the possible transfer of the coastal
defence function from local authorities to the Environment Agency, it is
believed that this would have a very detrimental effect as far as local
authorities are concerned. It is
believed that such a move would prove to be more costly in the long run, quite
apart from the service being less responsive and more distant from the local
community concerned. The ability to
integrate coastal defence capital programmes with other coastal regeneration
works would be lost. Nevertheless it is
anticipated that local authorities would still be the first point of contact by
the public in the event of coastal emergencies, leaving a question as to how
any such emergency responses would be funded in practice.
19.
If powers or legislation are provided or imposed upon
local authorities in relation to management of the marine environment including
extension of controls into nearshore waters, it is vital that resources are
provided for local authorities to address these new functions effectively.
LEGAL
IMPLICATIONS
20.
The Isle of Wight Council is a Coast Protection
Authority under the terms of the Coast Protection Act 1949; it’s coastline of
110km (65 miles) is the longest of any Coast Protection Authority in England
and Wales. The Council fulfils statutory
functions in terms of planning, public safety, health and safety, safety for
users of coastal highways, as a statutory harbour authority (for both Newport
and Ventnor harbours). The Council also
has a statutory duty to mark navigational hazards and to protect Natura 2000
sites and has powers to undertake coast protection works and provide oil spill
response.
21.
Should proposals within the Marine Bill come into
force, this may well provide additional duties or powers to the Council in
terms of improved management of the marine environment and integrating
terrestrial and marine planning.
OPTIONS
22.
Marine Bill – Coastal management issues
i.
Support the stance of the Local Government Association
in terms of seeking a more co-ordinated and integrated approach to spatial
planning and management within coastal zones.
This approach be supported subject to an appropriate level of resources
being made available in order to enable local authorities to fulfil any additional
duties or powers.
ii.
Not to support the coastal management proposals in the
Marine Bill. However, this could mean
the loss of an opportunity to obtain financial support for a range of coastal
management initiatives as well as improved coastal governance.
23.
Marine Bill – Coast protection functions
i.
To support the stance of the Local Government
Association Coastal Special Interests Group by writing to Defra to strongly
advocate the retention of coast protection powers by local authorities
including an on-going role in terms of leading the shoreline management plans
initiative.
ii.
Not to support the retention of the coast protection
function by local authorities. However,
it is believed that loss of the function would have very serious consequences
on a range of coastal management and regeneration initiatives as well as
increasing risks to a wide range of coastal stakeholders, particularly in the
context of climate change.
EVALUATION/RISK
MANAGEMENT
24.
Recent research has identified the Isle of Wight coast
as facing some of the greatest risks in Europe from erosion and landslip; these
will be increased further as a result of the impacts of climate change. In view of the fact that much of the
Island’s economic base, infrastructure and tourism economy is located within
the coastal zone, it is vital that the coastline is well managed. It is believed that the Marine Bill could
contribute further to this process.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
25.
i. The
proposal for a Marine Bill, which seeks improved governance in coastal zones,
be supported, in principle, subject to further clarification of proposed
powers and duties that may be provided to local authorities. The necessary resources must be provided
by central government to support any additional functions.
ii. The
stance of the Local Government Association in relation to retention of coast
protection powers be supported strongly and a letter be sent to Defra to this
effect.
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BACKGROUND PAPERS
26.
Response by the Chairman
of the Coastal Groups of England and Wales to the Defra consultation document
‘Making space for water’ – 22 October 2004.
27.
Response by the Chairman
of the Coastal Groups of England and Wales to the results of the Defra
consultation programme on ‘Making space for water’ – letter dated 8 July
2005.
28.
Report to the Local
Government Association Coastal Special Interests Group ‘Making space for water
– consultation on administrative arrangements’ – 6 December 2005.
29.
Report to the Local
Government Association Coastal Special Interests Group ‘The Marine Bill’ – 6
December 2005.
30.
Isle of Wight Coast
Shoreline Management Plan – Halcrow/Isle of Wight Centre for the Coastal
Environment – March 1997.
31.
‘A non-technical guide
to coastal defence’ – Report Dr R McInnes for the Standing Conference on
Problems Associated with the Coastline; June 2003.
Contact
Point: Dr Robin McInnes, Coastal
Manager
Tel:
(01983) 857220; E-mail: [email protected]
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DR ROBIN McINNES
Coastal Manager
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COUNCILLOR IAN WARD
Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Planning
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