There is a big discussion at the moment around the Crown estate in Wales and whether the money generated from it should be given to the Welsh Government to spend in Wales.
A petition on Change.org has now been signed by more than 11,000 people calling on the "transfer of control over the £500m Crown Estate to Wales". The petition reads: "This is money that would enable Wales to build and develop our own Welsh renewable energy industry rather than selling off our assets to the highest foreign bidder."
But what is the Crown Estate? And what would this mean for Wales? To answer these questions we will be drawing from the conclusions of Lorna Scurlock from Senedd Research.
The Crown Estate is a collection of marine and land assets and holdings belonging to the reigning monarch. The marine assets, and the increasingly important role they play in tackling the climate crisis, are the focus of this article.
The Crown Estate includes the seabed out to 12 nautical miles, around 65% of the Welsh foreshore and riverbed, and a number of ports and marinas. However, it’s not the private property of the monarch. It cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the sovereign.
The term Crown Estate is also used for the body that administers the estate, established by the Crown Estate Act 1961 and headed by a board - the Crown Estate Commissioners. It’s independent of government and the monarch with a public function to:
- invest in and manage certain property assets belonging to the Monarch
- remit its revenue surplus each year to the UK consolidated fund.
The situation in Scotland
Crown Estate Scotland was established in 2017 as a public corporation to oversee the management of the Scottish Crown Estate assets. The Scottish Government states that Marine Scotland has a key role in reforming the Scottish Crown Estate, and lead its strategic management plan.
Last year Crown Estate Scotland returned £12 million revenue to the Scottish Government for public spending, and built up a £38.6 million fund for investment in the blue economy.
The Welsh Government highlights in ‘Net Zero Wales’ that income from leasing the seabed in Scottish waters, is returned to Scottish Ministers, and that “The Crown Estate is set to benefit financially from Wales hosting offshore and marine renewables. There should be parity with Scotland”. It states that “Wales should benefit from energy projects on land and in Welsh waters”.
How much is Wales worth to the Crown Estate?
The valuation of the Crown Estate’s marine portfolio in Wales has increased significantly from £49.2 million in 2020 to £549.1 million in 2021. Wales’s total portfolio of assets is currently valued at £603 million.
The Crown Estate acts as a gatekeeper for any organisation or individual seeking to use or develop the seabed. It’s responsible for authorising activities as diverse as oil and gas pipelines, marine aggregate extraction, fish farming, and telecommunications and power cables. In addition it holds the rights to the resources on the continental shelf, such as natural resources and offshore energy, but excluding fossil fuels.
Beyond the 12 nautical mile limit the seabed is ownerless. However various government bodies have rights over resources within the exclusive economic zone (12-200 nautical miles, also known as the offshore). Responsibility for oil and gas in the Welsh offshore is reserved to the UK Government, but the Crown Estate has responsibility for offshore wind and wave.
As a result it plays a fundamental role in the sustainable development of the marine renewable energy sector, which it describes as its “most significant activity” in Wales. You can view the petition here.
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