Reflections from UK Marine Industries on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill

The SUDG welcomes the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) with its aim of securing growth and protecting and improving the environment, which are both entirely in line with SUDG objectives. We see huge value in taking a strategic approach to consider and deliver environmental measures in the marine realm.  

We welcome that approaches will be accessible to all marine industries and all scales of marine development (including but not limited to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPS)), and we strongly support any proposals to extend the jurisdiction of the PIB to the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), further than its current 12nm limit.

We also strongly support that the use of the NRF be optional for all developers, under all circumstances. This will be an important driver in ensuring that an Environmental Development Plan (EDP) is practical, proportionate and fit for purpose.

Finally, we must stress SUDG marine industries’ continued commitment to upholding the mitigation hierarchy, and request that when it comes to the details of implementation, the principles of the mitigation hierarchy are upheld and supported by any new legislation.

Further details can be found in the paper below.

Planning and Infrastructure bill_Reflections from SUDG marine industries .pdf

Download PDF • 190KB

SUDG Animation

We are really pleased to share with you our new animation which explains what we do and why we do it. Enjoy!

The Socio-Economic Benefits of Marine Industries

SUDG industries contribute a significant amount of socio-economic value to the UK economy which should not be overlooked when making critical decisions regarding the use and management of the marine environment and seabed, given the importance of marine industries for energy generation and transmission, global communications, international trade and commerce, and recreation. Since many of these activities are focused in coastal communities they also provide important income and jobs for those living in these areas.

The SUDG commisisoned a report to quantify the contirbutions of SUDG marine industries to the UK ecomonmy and the analysis showed that SUDG industries generate between £150 billion and £180 billion in turnover, with a contribution of between £65 billion and £69 billion in overall economic value (GVA), supporting approximately 580,000[1] to 1 million jobs.

The full report can be downloaded here:

R4499_SUDG_Economic_Benefits_Final_Report_20241211_finalv2.pdf

Download PDF • 3.57MB

[1]                 This is the multiplier analysis but it does not include indirect and induced jobs from the ports sector and is therefore likely to be an under-estimate.