Draft United Kingdom Marine Policy Statement

Lord Greenway Excerpts

Wednesday 15th December 2010 Grand Committee

[Lord Greenway]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Henley, for introducing the debate. Having been away for several days, including the weekend, I only realised on Monday that this debate was to take place and therefore, although I have had a brief look through the Government’s draft marine policy statement, I confess that I have not read it in detail. I must also confess that from what I have read, a lot of it is a little confusing and there is an awful lot of verbiage. I think that it could have been considerably simplified. That apart, on what it covers, it is reasonably comprehensive. Certainly, my friends in the marine industries are supportive of the general content. I also welcome the Minister’s words telling us that work is due to start on the marine plans in March.

In some ways the document is far-sighted, and I particularly welcome the fact that under paragraph 3.3 dealing with energy, particularly renewable energy, mention is made of the potential of tidal and wave energy. I have always been a proponent of this type of energy because energy from wind farms is to some extent overrated. I am glad that this document looks ahead because as time goes on and more development takes place, we may well find that energy, particularly that derived from tides, is much greater than anyone realises. Indeed, some people are already projecting that up to 20 per cent of the country’s energy needs could come from tidal sources. I recognise that this is an early stage in its development, but it is something that certainly we should take note of.

I turn now to references to ports and shipping, particularly in paragraph 3.4. I welcome the decision that,

“the decision-maker should take into account and seek to minimise any negative impacts on shipping activity, freedom of navigation and navigational safety. In particular, international maritime law should be respected”.

I declare a non-pecuniary interest as an Elder Brother of Trinity House. We are particularly concerned with navigational safety, so I am delighted to see that that wording is in the document. Obviously the increased development of offshore wind farms will have a possible impact on navigational safety, so it is something that we should watch very carefully. Incidentally, the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, mentioned the Dover Strait. I do not have any figures to hand to contradict what she said, and certainly in days gone by the strait used to be the worst area in the world for collisions, but since measures were taken to separate the main traffic lanes going east and west or north and south, the number of collisions has reduced dramatically. I would think that there are other areas around the world which could be equally as dangerous, if not more so.

I turn now to ports. I understand that there is some concern that arguments on the potential of port development are expressed in too one-sided a way, with only a brief reference to the positive economic benefits and much more apparent weight given to possible environmental disbenefits. The ports feel that there is a need for a more even-handed approach, which brings me back to the lengthy arguments that we had during the passage of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, when we discussed sustainable development at great length, and how the different factions could come to an agreement. When the Marine Management Organisation starts planning, it will come across these problems and will have a lot of work on its hands.

I will say a brief word about paragraph 3.6 on marine dredging and disposal. It would be more accurate to describe this as “navigational dredging and disposal”, to make it absolutely clear that we are talking about navigational dredging. This paragraph should make reference also to the need to support existing and future port development.

I turn now to the recreational side of the boating business, covered by paragraph 3.11. The British Marine Federation represents the leisure maritime industry. It feels that there is a possible case here for separation. The boating industry refers to those who own a boat, or go in other people’s boats, for pleasure, whereas the tourism side refers to people who go on holiday to beaches and perhaps take a short trip in a boat down the coast. These are separate activities and the latter is small compared with the overall marine leisure boating industry.

Most maritime interests are concerned that the designation of marine conservation zones is being taken as a pre-emptive, stand-alone exercise that is not part of the marine planning process. They feel that it would be much better if this were dealt with in the whole marine planning process.

As I hinted a few minutes ago, marine plans will be the key at local level. That is when the nitty-gritty of this exercise will start. The Marine Management Organisation will take forward these plans and will have a tough job on its hands. All of us who were involved in the Joint Committee that looked at the Marine and Coastal Access Bill recognise this. We were also concerned that the MMO would not be properly funded. I hope that the departures of the chairman and chief executive after only a few months in post were not as a result of fiscal concerns.

This document is a good way forward. It can be tweaked a little, but I would like to see it accepted as soon as possible, and for us to get on with the planning process.