Firstly, thank you to everyone who has supported Câr-y-Môr throughout the process of this appeal. From preparing the case, offering advice on how to present the information collected, and showing up on the day in support. It was wonderful to see just how much support we have at Câr-y-Môr.

On September 21st 2022, Câr-y-Môr submitted an appeal against one of the decisions of our marine licence application. The licensing authority in Wales is Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Originally, Câr-y-Môr applied for a 20 year marine licence. However, we were only given 5. Almost one year later we had a hearing chaired by the planning inspectorate to present our case on why NRW’s decision was unreasonable.

Our argument was that NRW were overly precautious based on the scale/ potential impact of the development. Further, this decision was not in keeping with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. We are in the midst of a climate emergency and support must be given to projects that are nature positive. A five year marine licence impacts our ability to seek investment and plan for the future. If we were an ordinary business dictated by shareholder returns we would not have accepted the 5 year marine licence and would have taken our investment and expertise to another country.

From our experience of the appeal we have taken away three key points:

● the need for wider implementation of Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015,

● the need for a paradigm shift in marine planning and policy,

● the need for greater flexibility and creative problem solving within the licensing and

consenting process.

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

A key piece of our argument centred around the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. It is a landmark piece of legislation passed by the Welsh Government which was designed to promote the long-term well-being of Wales and its citizens by taking into account the needs of present and future generations. It represents a pioneering approach to governance that places an emphasis on sustainable development and holistic decision-making. Public bodies in Wales, including NRW, must consider the well-being of future generations in their decision-making processes. We were disappointed in the hearing NRW explicitly took the position that European Habitat protection supersedes the Future Generations Act. We are in a climate and biodiversity crisis and there will not be nature to protect if climate positive activities are not allowed to prosper because of bureaucratic red tape. Fundamentally, the focus on only protecting habitats (rather than thinking about whole systems) is incredibly short sited even if it attempts to look further into the future.

The need for a paradigm shift in Marine planning and policy

For example, What is a large scale vs a small scale development? Our project was consistently referred to as large scale but then what would that make an offshore wind development? Another example is the fact that everyone in the hearing recognized

personally that we are in the midst of a climate crisis. However, there is no cohesion between climate friendly development, habitat protection and the bureaucratic red tape that “regulates” them. A report from a workshop between the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) specifically states that “addressing the synergies between mitigating biodiversity loss and climate change, while considering their social impacts, offers the opportunity to maximise benefits and meet global development goals”. There is a real opportunity to provide socio-economic and environmental benefits to Wales. However, there must be a paradigm shift in how problems and issues are approached. This kind of outside the box thinking does not seem to be taking place within the Welsh regulatory frameworks.

Inflexibility and Lack of Creative Problem Solving

This whole process (from marine licence application to appeal hearing)has made it apparent that there is an inherent lack of flexibility and a lack of creative problem solving within the Welsh regulatory framework. During the appeal hearing Câr-y-Môr was told that a twenty year marine licence would not have passed an Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA.) However, no answer was given when asked why a twenty year marine licence with five year conditions based on monitoring (e.g. if environmental impact happens on a five year assessment the infrastructure must be removed from the water) was not considered. Even then, the full benthic monitoring needs were not given until during the hearing (rather than when the marine licence was submitted or even in pre application consultation).

FInally, it is apparent that there is no flexibility when dealing with third sector organisations. Throughout the hearing Câr-y-Môr was referred to simply as a business. This is not the case. Yes, one of the ultimate goals of Câr-y-Môr is to turn a profit, but Câr-y-Môr is a not for profit community benefit society. This is a major flaw in the assessment of an application. A standard business would need to show that they have the resources (money) to carry out the environmental assessment and monitoring required for a longer term marine licence.

We were constantly told that NRW had no confidence that we could carry out a monitoring plan and yet we provided a benthic survey (ROV) with descriptions and had been carrying out monitoring on the trial sites for two years before the application was even submitted. In treating Câr-y-Môr as a standard business the greatest asset of the society, ITS PEOPLE, is lost.

Conclusion

At its heart Câr-y-Môr is a network of over 300 individuals of all ages and diverse backgrounds. Each member is gifted with unique talents and all are working towards the betterment of society in the face of a climate and biodiversity emergency. Unfortunately, Câr-y-Môr was consistently portrayed as inexperienced and unable to commit to a monitoring regime.

However, if Câr-y-Môr’s status as a community benefit society had realistically been considered it would have been apparent that we could have adhered to a proportionate monitoring regime. We are not against environmental monitoring & protection. To the contrary, environmental benefit is one of the core values of Câr-y-Môr. As we await the final decision of the inspectorate we will continue to push for a more holistic view of the marine

licensing process from the Welsh Government and NRW. Although we are the first, we will not be the last ocean farm in Wales.

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