Updated: The list of local authorities who have expressed an interest to be ‘early adopters’ of the coastal concordat has been updated.
The coastal concordat is a standalone agreement about the consenting phase of development, complementing other government agency led initiatives to promote sustainable growth, including the Defra Network Offer to LEPs, City Deals and Enterprise Zones.
The concordat offers benefits to applicants, regulators and advisors by reducing unnecessary regulatory duplication, providing better sign-posting, streamlining assessments and increasing transparency and consistency of advice.
The concordat approach can be applied to any applications for individual projects, if they:
- span the intertidal area in estuaries and on the coast and
- require multiple consents including both a marine licence and a planning permission from the local planning authority.
It will not apply to projects that:
- are solely terrestrial
- already have co-ordination mechanisms in place e.g. National Significant Infrastructure projects
Information for local authorities
The concordat will help local authorities as regulators, to work more effectively with other regulators and advisors involved in coastal development. Implementation of the concordat should generate long-term efficiency savings for regulators, advisors and applicants alike as a result of improved coordination and hence support sustainable economic growth in their areas.
How to sign up
If you are interested and wish to find out more, contact Defra at Marine Programme Support Office (MSE) on MarineProgrammeSupportOffice@defra.gsi.gov.uk
The concordat is being implemented where local authorities have agreed to adopt and implement the principles. In areas where the local authority has not yet signed up, the signatories will look to implement the principles in partnership as far as possible, as part of current joint working arrangements.
Background
The coastal concordat is an agreement between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Transport, the Local Government Association’s Coastal Special Interest Group (representing local Authorities in coastal and estuarine areas), National Parks England, the Marine Management Organisation, the Environment Agency, Natural England and National Parks England. Read the related press release
What further support is available?
The Defra delivery bodies are working together to train their staff to enable them to implement the concordat.
An implementation document has been produced for use by staff in signatory bodies with an operational role in concordat projects and appropriate staff in Local Planning Authorities that have chosen to adopt the concordat principles. It will also be of interest to applicants and other regulators/advisors as it sets out what they can expect from signatory bodies where applications fall within the scope of the concordat, and highlights the responsibilities of applicants in that context.