Plymouth City Council has used the occasion of the 13th European Biennial of Towns and Town Planners 2019 conference, in order to announce its intention to make Plymouth the UK's first National Marine Park (NMP).
Sue Dann, the Cabinet Member for the Environment and Street Scene, has described Plymouth's NMP intentions to the European Council of Spatial Planners (ECTP) audience, saying that the national marine park project would set out "a new vision". This would reposition the city and help to build on Plymouth's much-celebrated terrestrial planning success. This would be the first; the UK does not currently have a National Marine Park, and Plymouth are looking to pilot a 'new approach' for the nation.
Following the official launch of the plans, council leader Tudor Evans OBE has said, "Becoming the first-ever UK National Marine Park is key to our joint local plan and emerging visitor plan." In another statement, the Environment Secretary, Theresa Villiers has added that: "I wholeheartedly support the creation of the first National Marine Park, backed by £70,000 of Government funding."
Dann added that "This year is the 70th anniversary of national parks in this country, and we think Plymouth should be the first of a series of National Marine Parks. People are understandably concentrated on the governance, but it's the park bit that is going to change so many people's lives."
In Plymouth, 43% of space is either blue or green, and the city council's planning team wants to build on the knowledge that it has gained from its terrestrial planning, then moving on to apply this to the marine environment. Dann continues, "We set our vision to be one of the most vibrant waterfront cities, and through terrestrial planning, we've turned the city back round to face it. Now we want to bring the actual marine environment to life. We want to set a new idea of our place, to raise our aspirations, give confidence to the city, take that learning [from terrestrial planning] and apply it to the marine environment."
Plymouth sound has some of the strongest environmental standards already, and the pursuit of the marine park status is about setting an open agenda, instead of a protectionist one. The City council is looking to set a new framework for the marine environment; they have looked for other places in the world, but no other place fits exactly what they want to do there - the UK has given them the confidence, and they believe that they are the best place to pilot this.
The council's head of Environmental Planning, Kat Deeney, has said "We're not trying to set a pristine environment that no one goes in - it's actually the reverse. We want to set a new standard for how people, business and wildlife can coexist."
The idea was first mooted in 2012, but has since been threaded into the Plymouth and South West Devon joint local plan and emerging strategy. As a result of only 17% of children had visited a beach in Plymouth, one particular aim is to kick-start local interest in the seafront. It is planned to have the feeling of a terrestrial national park, but if it was applied to the sea. There is a belief that an NMP could be more socially inclusive than inland national parks, as it is comparably easier to access the seaside towns than it is to access a typical national park - seaside visits are more likely to be taken by families as well.
Dann finishes, stating, "This is a process that may take several years as it is a national first. We will continue to engage with Plymouth residents, local, regional and national organisations and stakeholders to do all we can to make this happen."
