Managing competition for marine space using the tools of planning

This article engages with the new and complex problem of managing the competition for marine space and the institutional work of establishing a set of governance structures to converge with existing terrestrial and marine multi-level institutions with their overlapping spatial and sector based priorities. The structures being put in place are designed to anticipate potential conflicts amongst marine users whilst ensuring that the assets owned in common can be sustained for future generations. The article draws on the substantial body of work on the efficacy of terrestrial planning and governance tools and the international literature on marine management, and provides both new empirical material from interviews with key actors and textual analysis of the concepts in use as the governments in the United Kingdom interpret the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive to balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. Specifically this article reviews the progress towards the spatial management of marine resources and finds there has been considerable collaboration to share datasets and to scope the possible conflicts in marine planning zones but that, in most cases, the difficult work of sharing understanding of these conflicts and partnership working to find resolutions has yet to start.