Delivering Integrated Coastal-zone Management through Land-use Planning

The first part of this paper outlines the planning policy framework for ICZM from the European to the national level. This not only contextualises the local approach to ICZM but also provides a benchmark against which to assess the efficacy of ICZM in the two areas of coast chosen for this study. The second part then examines how the development plans in the three local authorities tackle ICZM and the extent to which they follow the European and national approaches. This is coupled with an analysis of interviews with key planners and other actors on their attitudes towards ICZM. Finally, the paper draws some conclusions and addresses the research questions posed above. Briefly, we argue that despite both national and EU attempts to encourage responsible authorities to develop the concept of ICZM, and an increasing awareness that land-use planning has significant currency in integrating management approaches, the development of ICZM practice in the three case-study local authorities has been disappointing. There are a variety of reasons for this, although institutional and administrative fragmentation is seen as key among those involved. A by-product of our research, therefore, is the recognition of the need for planning to take a greater lead in coordinating ICZM activity. This accords with the findings of others who have evaluated ICZM. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this in the conclusions.