The project at Plymouth Sound in Devon will use the National Lottery award money to create an estimated 464 jobs in 20 new enterprises.
The scheme also aims to protect the area’s 1,000 marine species and help tackle the impact of climate change. Read the BBC Coverage
PLYMOUTH SOUND TO RECEIVE £9.5M FROM THE NATIONAL LOTTERY HERITAGE FUND
July 13, 2021 by Blue Marine Foundation
‘Seventy years after Britain declared its first national park, coastal and marine experts are celebrating as National Marine Parks are set to become a reality. The UK’s first National Marine Park in Plymouth Sound has been awarded £9,582,100 as the National Lottery Heritage Fund announces its Heritage Horizon Awards today.
The announcement is timely as people flock to open spaces and beaches to recover from a year of lockdowns and cements the foundation of a new generation of marine park in the UK’s territorial waters that could revolutionise how the public views the ocean.
Plymouth Sound is an intricate marine environment with over 1,000 species, where the largest naval base in Europe and fragile sea grass beds co-exist. It is a landscape that once welcomed the Mayflower passengers, Sir Francis Drake, Captain Cook and Charles Darwin and is now home to over 400 fishing boats as well as over 600 wrecks.
Charles Clover, Executive Director of Blue Marine Foundation who sits on the park’s board, said:
“This National Lottery funding is massively to be welcomed as it will make the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park a reality. Until now the park has had neither the staff nor the money to get going. Lottery funding will deliver a much-needed cash injection of nine million pounds to the project – the council’s putting in £3m – and a development phase will take place to identify what the money should be spent on.
“It is crucial that as well as connecting people with the sea this funding is used to deliver environmental projects which actually restore and improve the marine environment as otherwise more people could just mean more impact. But overall the funding is a huge endorsement for the project and BLUE looks forward to working with Plymouth on its innovative journey.’
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