Consultation on Mooir Vannin Offshore Wind Farm Limited’s application for marine infrastructure consent

Overview

The Council of Ministers is holding a public consultation on Mooir Vannin Offshore Wind Farm Limited’s application for a marine infrastructure consent under the Marine Infrastructure Management Act 2016. 

The application relates to the company’s proposed development of an offshore windfarm off the North-East coast of the Island. You can view Mooir Vannin’s application at mima.gov.im (opens in a new tab) or in person at Douglas City Library, 8 Duke Street, Douglas, IM1 2LB.

The consultation intends to gather public opinion on the application to both inform and enhance the examination of the application and its merits and demerits. 

Further to legislative requirements, your response to the consultation must:

1. Be submitted in writing, physically or electronically, and clearly state your name and address, or that of the person or organisation on whose behalf you are responding
    
2. Provide detailed comments on the application, this can include:
    
   • Clearly stating whether you support or object to the application
      
   • Explaining the reasons for your support or objection, these can be backed by evidence or personal experience
      
   • Offering any suggestions for mitigating negative impacts or improving the project
3. Provide a summary should your response exceed 1500 words

Further guidance on how to shape your response is provided alongside this consultation. 

Why your views matter

The Marine Infrastructure Management Act 2016 sets out the process which must be followed for applications for marine infrastructure consent in Manx territorial waters.  

Further to the requirements of the Act, the Council of Ministers must arrange a public consultation on any application as soon as is reasonably practicable after its decision to accept it for examination has been notified to all relevant parties.

Reasonable adjustments and alternative formats

The Department is committed to equal opportunities and our aim is to make our documents easy to use and accessible to all.

We will take steps to accommodate any reasonable adjustments and provide such assistance as you may reasonably require to enable you to access or reply to this consultation.

If you need assistance with accessing or replying to this consultation, please call +44 1624 685711, email MIMA.Applications@gov.im or visit our office at: 

3rd Floor Government Offices,
Bucks Road,
Douglas,
IM1 3PN

Responding to this consultation and questions

You can respond to this consultation online by clicking on the 'View the online survey' link below. Alternatively you can download a paper version of this consultation in the 'Related' section below and email it to MIMA.Applications@gov.im or post it to:

3rd Floor Government Offices,
Bucks Road,
Douglas,
IM1 3PN

Contact the Cabinet Office at MIMA.Applications@gov.im if you have any queries or are unclear about whether a particular comment is acceptable.

What happens next

All consultation responses will be made publicly available on the consultation hub. All responses provided to the consultation will be collated and referred to the Examining Body who will conduct an assessment of the issues raised and subsequently organise the examination process reflective of them. 

Following the conclusion of the consultation period, the application and accompanying consultation responses are referred to a panel of examiners formally appointed by the Council of Ministers to assess the merits of the application, this panel is known as the examining body and commences the examination period.

At the beginning of the examination period, the examining body will hold a preliminary meeting to outline the examination timetable and the procedure that will be followed during examination. Specific-issue hearings and public hearings will also be held to delve into further areas more deeply and assess relevant issues.

Following completion of the examination period, the examining body will write a report inclusive of its recommendations as to whether to accept the application for marine infrastructure consent to the Council of Ministers, who are the ultimate decision makers on any application. 

Giving a response to the consultation ensure that your views are taken into account by the Examining Body. Views expressed during the examination stage will inform the examiners’ final report and recommendations to the Council of Ministers. Therefore, by submitting a response you are ensuring your views are considered and can have an impact on the overall decision.