The State Development Plan (LEP) for Schleswig - Holstein regulates conclusively the spatial objectives and principles for terrestrial and for marine areas. The guiding principle is sustainable spatial development, which brings the social and economic demands regarding space in line with its ecological functions and leads to a permanent, large-scale balanced order.
The plan aims to balance different uses in the coastal zone and adjust to each other. Integrated coastal zone management should play an important role during the whole process.
The State Development Plan (LEP) came into effect in October 2010 as a legally binding plan.
The plan sets binding rules and regulations for authorities, mainly with regard to licensing procedures and approval of projects. It covers the land as well as the marine areas of Schleswig-Holstein as far as the territorial sea border.
The state development plan of Schleswig-Holstein for the territorial areas of the Baltic Sea includes several areas of reservation for nature and landscape, a test field for wind energy turbines and core areas for tourism at the coasts. Shipping is allowed to use the whole area without precise shipping lanes. The territorial areas of the North Sea are dominated by the Wadden Sea National Park. Flensburg, Kiel, Puttgarden and Lübeck are the four most important ports determined in the plan.
Decisions, weighing and compromises regarding use conflicts at the sea are taken by and between the different ministries. The planners achieve the results afterwards and define areas for different uses based on legal exclusion criteria. The communities are responsible for ports and their developments.
The SEA report, which has been developed in parallel to the LEP in 2010, is an integral part of the plan.
Broad public participation was secured through an online-based consultation and participation procedure, as well as several public stakeholder meetings in different parts of Schleswig-Holstein and public displays. Denmark as neighbouring state was also included in the participation and consultation process.
The procedure for updating the state development plan 2010 is currently in progress and should be ready in autumn 2021. In November 2018, the state government presented the first draft for the update of the state development plan. The state government approved the second draft on November 24, 2020. There was also a public participation process for this, which ran from December 8, 2020 to February 22, 2021 and in which comments could be made on the changes to the first draft.