The Horizons Project

In a once in a lifetime transformational opportunity, Plymouth has been awarded £11.6 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop the UK’s first National Marine Park.

Unlike other National Parks, Plymouth’s amazing landscape is mostly under the sea, hidden from view, yet brimming with wildlife of international importance, outstanding maritime heritage, and over 600 shipwrecks.

Our plan is to create the country’s first National Marine Park, forging a new relationship between the city and the sea. Encouraging people to become ‘Marine Citizens’, developing closer connections with the ocean, learning to care about our coastal environment and change the way we behave in order to protect it.

This is the beginning of a movement – a first-of-its-kind opportunity for the development of National Marine Parks across the UK and it is being led by Plymouth.

Plymouth is one of three environment projects to successfully bid for the Heritage Horizon Awards which were developed to support innovative projects that transform lives and economies and revolutionise UK heritage.

Prior to submitting the five-year delivery bid we carried out a development stage where we spoke to 10,000 people, engaged with 155 community groups, visited 46 primary schools – inspiring 7,000 children – and 200 volunteers contributed over 1500 hours of their time.

During this development stage we gained invaluable insight into the challenges facing many of our community – barriers include – cost, accessibility, water confidence, lack of ocean knowledge and a sense of not feeling welcome.

This information formed the basis of the transformational five-year delivery programme, to help overcome these restrictive barriers that prevent people from enjoying Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.

Our innovative project puts the restoration of nature and the city’s marine heritage at its heart, engaging with all those living, working and studying in Plymouth. Through an exciting and diverse activity plan, Plymouth Sound National Marine Park aims to engage the entire city in its three-step journey to:

• Engage and inspire;
• Provide opportunities for learning and discovery;
• Enable connection and positive action to support the long-term care of Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.

A series of sensitive restoration projects across the citywide waterfront will enable greater accessibility to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. These developments will open up new ‘gateways’ to the National Marine Park through previously inaccessible heritage sites, including the 17^th century Mount Batten Tower and Garden Battery at Mount Edgcumbe, which has been closed to the public since World War 2.

Improvements to the public realm at Mount Batten Peninsula will enhance dwell time and increase access to nature, whilst Tinside, Plymouth’s beloved Art-Deco Lido, will undergo transformational work to open up new spaces that can be enjoyed year-round.

Furthermore, a pioneering nature boost project will restore habitats and species including seagrass, mudflats and saltmarshes, oysters, mussels, little egrets, avocets thornback ray, seahorses, sand eels and the rare allis shad.

Our innovative Digital Marine Park will ensure we can connect with over 10,000 people digitally through an inclusive and accessible platform that will provide a unique interpretation of the unique heritage and nature of Plymouth Sound National Marine Park.

Our Vision

‘Our National Marine Park will value the environment, heritage and economy of Plymouth Sound and its estuaries. It is where people and planet will come together to realise a new, sustainable relationship with the sea.’

Our Aims

Over the next five years, we will:

• Connect 10 million people to Plymouth Sound National Marine Park
• Engage 264,000 people – our entire city – with the park and support their journey to Marine Citizenship
• Activate 100,000 hours of volunteer time
• Sustain the change – so that in 2040 the number of people actively engaged with PSNMP is 20% more than at the end of the project
• Involve 200 businesses through the enhancement of PSNMP
• Support the development of 20 new enterprises
• Create 510 jobs through project investment, and
• Deliver £20.2 million of gross value added (GVA).

The Horizons Project comes at the right time for Plymouth and the nation. We need innovation to respond to the significant challenges of our times. With an inclusive and democratic stance, we continue to change the way we talk about preserving history and nature. Change is driven by the people and communities who will be the advocates for Plymouth Sound National Marine Park for generations to come.