Talks start as to how The Crown Estate is managed in Scotland

26 July 2010

Ministers in Scotland are in talks with the UK government to determine how to make The Crown Estate ensure that Scotland benefits fully from its natural resources.

The Crown Estate manages the sea bed up to 12 miles from shore as well as the foreshore and some on-land assets but is the responsibility of UK government and as such is not directly accountable to Scottish ministers.

Discussions between the parties are underway to determine how The Crown Estate is managed in Scotland to benefit local communities and ensure the organisation adapts to the post-devolution era.

Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, said, ‘The people of Scotland should benefit from our marine and natural resources yet, despite the arrival of devolution over a decade ago, the Crown Estate remains unaccountable to Scotland. It is time for The Crown Estate to deliver greater benefits to Scotland and our communities.

‘The election of a new UK coalition government provides the opportunity for The Crown Estate to fully adapt to the post-devolution era, with greater transparency and accountability for their activities north of the border. We must ensure that Scottish communities see more benefits from the revenues generated on their doorstep.’

Scotland is home to the European Marine Energy Test Centre, which is based in the Orkney Islands and has housed testing for technologies from major marine energy companies such as Aquamarine power and AWS Ocean Technologies

‘The fact that a UK body like the Crown Estate controls our seabed when the flow of all other marine powers are going in the opposite direction is out of step with modern and progressive political arrangements,’ he said

Research from the Offshore Valuation Group, published in May 2010, found that Scotland’s total offshore resource is estimated at 206GW.

A UK Treasury Select Committee report in March 2010 highlighted the need for The Crown Estate to greatly strengthen its management within Scotland. It also recommended that a concordat or memorandum of understanding between the Scottish government and the Crown Estate Commissioner would be needed to consolidate their working relationship.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: energy efficiency, marine energy, policy, wave energy

This story was published on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 11:19 am and is filed under Europe, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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