Issue - meetings

Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services

Since April 2007, new aquaculture sites and modifications to existing aquaculture developments have required planning consent from Argyll and Bute Council under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Marine Fish Farming (Scotland) Order 2007 and applied to the placement of equipment in the sea, on the seabed or on the foreshore below MWHS out of 12 nautical miles.  The original definition of “fish farming” in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 was restricted to breeding, rearing or keeping of fish or shellfish (including any kind of crustacean or mollusc).  Article 8(2) of the 2007 Order amended this definition to include sea urchins which effectively means that development proposals for seaweed farms in coastal waters do not require planning consent, even though the type and scale of development is very similar to that of mussel farm developments. 

The Committee considered a report advising that Marine Scotland will be consulting on proposals to introduce new legislation on improving management measures for farmed fish and that this was an opportunity for the Scottish Government to consider bringing seaweed farming under local authority planning control by amending the definition of “fish farming” to include seaweed.

Decision

Agreed to support the view that marine algal farm developments should be brought under local authority planning control and agreed to the Head of Planning and Regulatory Services making representation to the Scottish Government for this option to be considered in the current development of the new Aquaculture Bill.

(Reference: Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services, submitted)