Planning

Marine Planning and Harbour Orders

Those applying for licences or approvals in a marine plan area will need to show that the adopted marine plan has been considered. Landmark barristers have substantial experience of all stages of this process, from advising those tasked with preparing and scrutinising marine plans, to advising private clients on the best strategy for delivering development in accordance with the marine plans that are now emerging.

Overview

Many activities proposed in the marine environment require a marine licence under the 2009 Act. In most cases, a licence will be required because something is proposed to be built in, or removed from, the sea or sea bed. Landmark barristers have extensive experience of advising applicants, objectors and regulators on matters relating to marine licensing, including representation at appeal hearings. Recent cases in the offshore environment include the Tilbury 2 DCO, and the Hornsea 3 and Thanet Extension Offshore Wind Farms, and the Immingham Eastern Ro-Ro Terminal DCO.

Landmark barristers have appeared in all of the important court cases about marine licencing, including:

R (Tarian Hafren Severn Shield CYF) v Marine Management Organisation [2022] PTSR 1261
Thomson v Marine Management Organisation [2020] Env LR 13
Powell v Marine Management Organisation [2017] EWHC 1491 (Admin).

Additional procedures come into play when dealing with harbours. A harbour empowerment order (“HEO”) enables a new harbour to be built, and creates the harbour authority responsible for managing it. A harbour revision order (“HRO”) enables changes to be made to the management of an existing harbour. Applications for both types of order, if sought in relation to a harbour in England, are made to the Marine Management Organisation. Since 1 April 2018, the Welsh Ministers have been responsible for HEOs and HROs so far as they relate to harbours wholly in Wales (except for major trust ports).

Landmark barristers have featured prominently in all the judicial review litigation relating to HEOs and/or HROs in recent years, including:

R (on the application of Great Yarmouth Port Co and Great Yarmouth Port Authority) v Marine Management Organisation [2014] EWHC 833 (Admin)
R (on the application of Humber Oil Terminals Trustees Ltd) v Marine Management Organisation [2012] EWHC 3068 (QB).

The regulation of fisheries, and issues relating to marine conservation and pollution, are also part of our marine work. Any question relating to the laws in the Blue Book – the compendium of UK and EU laws on fishing – is firmly within our expertise.