Orkney Islands Regional Marine Plan – Consultation

Orkney Islands Council (OIC), with valuable input from Orkney Marine Planning Advisory Group, prepared the Orkney Islands Regional Marine Plan – Consultation Draft (OIRMP: Consultation Draft) on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
The OIRMP: Consultation Draft was deposited for consultation from 1 August to 25 October 2024.
As part of the formal public consultation on the OIRMP: Consultation Draft, ten in-person community consultation and engagement events were delivered which ran through the day and into the evening in multiple locations throughout Orkney. There were over 250 people that attended the island engagement events, and many in-depth discussions held about the Plan and more general marine planning topics and themes. This also translated into a high number of more formal, written responses to the Orkney Islands Regional Marine Plan Consultation and modifications to the  OIRMP: Consultation Draft.

Eleven local school class sessions were delivered by our Marine Planning team to engage young people with marine planning issues and to find out what they valued in the marine environment, the marine economy and marine resources. Young people’s knowledge about the marine environment and economy is remarkably well informed and their feedback has helped to shape the preparation of the regional marine plan. Schools that participated in the engagement sessions have expressed enthusiasm to further engage with marine planning and environmental management. This has built relationships with schools and opened up opportunities for future engagement.

Community engagement and consultation has helped to create a regional marine plan shaped by Orkney communities and wider stakeholders. The adopted Orkney Islands Regional Marine Plan now provides a locally appropriate marine planning policy framework that empowers local communities to deliver sustainable development, realise economic opportunities and protect the marine environment. 

© Danny Morris, Emily Murphy Gray