Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:46 pm on 30 March 2022.
I thank the Deputy Minister for both responses. In addition to driving forward the work on meeting the recommendations of the deep dive, you could act on the majority will of the Senedd. Whilst the deep dive recommends publication of guidance to signpost appropriate and inappropriate areas for development of different renewable energy technologies, the Senedd gave its full support to my legislative proposal, which did call for legal levers such as a duty for the Welsh Government to facilitate the creation of a national marine development plan. As the RSPB have stated, the lack of robust statutory weighted development control and spatial policies to steer development away from environmentally sensitive areas from the outset creates uncertainty for all. And as is highlighted in the report on the Welsh Government's marine policies, environmental stakeholders called for a cross-sector statutory spatial plan that does address the cumulative impacts of marine developments. So, rather than leave the siting of much-needed renewable schemes to guidance and the Crown Estate, will you follow up on our successful legislative proposal by creating a national marine development plan? Thank you.