At the Margins of Planning : Offshore Windfarms in the United Kingdom

Offshore wind farms are now being developed on a major scale around the UK coastline, as part of the drive to increase renewable energy production.

This presents a new departure for the renewables sector, with fewer physical constraints than on land, and also avoids the planning system, which ends at low water mark.However, planning authorities and the communities they represent are deeply concerned about the consequences of offshore wind farms along their coastal zones.

This book presents an empirical investigation into the attitudes of local planning authorities into the development of offshore wind farms, examining these findings in the light of wider debates about the use and management of the seas, and the potential contribution of the mechanisms of planning.While addressing the current absence of literature on planning aspects of offshore development, it also raises questions about the geographical limits of planning and how to go about establishing a form of spatial planning to cover the marine environment.