North West Inshore and North West Offshore Marine Plan: three-year report
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-30)

The three-year progress report on the North West Inshore and North West Offshore Marine Plan.

This report was developed under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government. Although it is broadly aligned with existing legislation, there may be aspects of the report which may not fully reflect current government policy.

This report reviews the progress made in meeting the aims of the North West Inshore and North West Offshore Marine Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-north-west-marine-plans-documents) and the UK Marine Policy Statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-marine-policy-statement).

The north west inshore marine plan area stretches from the Solway Firth border with Scotland to the River Dee border with Wales. The north west offshore marine plan area includes the area from 12 nautical miles extending out to the maritime borders with Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. The North West Marine Plan was adopted on 23 June 2021.

The North West Marine Plan is a 20-year plan. Sections 54 and 61 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/23/contents) require matters that may impact the contextual landscape of marine planning and the marine plans themselves to be kept under review, with reports to be published every three years following plan adoption. This is the first Three-Year Report on the North West Inshore and North West Offshore Marine Plan.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO)’s approach to monitoring marine plans (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-north-west-marine-plans-documents) covers:
- context monitoring – an assessment of the legislative or regulatory changes that may affect the relevance of the marine plan
- process monitoring – an assessment of if, and how, the marine plan and its policies are being used
- outcome monitoring – an assessment of the effects and effectiveness of the plan policies, of the progress made towards securing the plan objectives, and where relevant, of the contribution towards high level marine objectives (HLMOs)
Amending or replacing the North West Marine Plan

The first Three-Year Report shows that the North West Marine Plan remains broadly aligned with new and existing legislation and is becoming embedded within the planning and consenting process. The North West Marine Plan is showing some positive progress towards the HLMOs, but more time is needed to identify clear trends and assess the effects and effectiveness of specific policies.

Following advice from the MMO, the North West Inshore and North West Offshore Marine Plan will be retained and not amended or replaced at this time.

The report was developed under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government. Whilst the report shows that the marine plan remains broadly aligned with new and existing legislation and is becoming embedded within the planning and consenting process, changes to policy under the current government may have occurred since preparation of the report.

Marine planning

Marine planning (https://www.gov.uk/topic/planning-development/marine-planning) is the approach to managing the seas around England introduced by the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

There are 11 marine plan areas in England. Marine plans are intended to:
- inform and guide marine users and regulators
- manage the sustainable development of marine industries, such as wind farms and fishing
- help conserve and protect marine species and habitats
Marine plans contribute to the UK’s vision of clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas.