Luke at Tinside Lido
Luke at Tinside Lido
  • Plymouth Sound has been declared as the UK’s first National Marine Park
  • The National Marine Park brings together all of Plymouth Sound’s assets under one banner
  • Luke has been campaigning for this since he was elected in 2017
  • Luke Pollard: “With the nation’s first National Marine Park, we are reinforcing why Plymouth truly is Britain’s Ocean City”

Luke Pollard has been successful in his campaign to get Plymouth Sound named as the UK’s first National Marine Park. This would bring together all of the existing environmental protections and aim to capture the imagination of locals and tourists alike. This was one of Luke’s key manifesto pledges in 2017, and he has been working with the Council to deliver it ever since.

Celebrating the declaration of Plymouth Sound as the UK’s first National Marine Park, Luke Pollard said:

 

“Two years ago in the 2017 General Election I proposed that Plymouth Sound should be designated as the UK’s first National Marine Park. For me it was the perfect was to tell our story, get more involved with our unique marine environment and build pride in our city and our heritage.

 

“This project has grown and grown –  now we have boldly declared as a city that Plymouth Sound will be the nation’s first National Marine Park. I feel like a proud Dad.

 

“As a city we have an incredible story to tell about the sea. Our heritage and legacy as a maritime city, our continuing expertise supporting the Royal Navy, our impressive scientific and academic centres of excellence, and our proud fishing industry mean we are ideally suited to capitalise on this and grow. We just need a way to tell our story – and the National Marine Park is the perfect way to do it

 

“With the nation’s first National Marine Park, we are reinforcing why Plymouth truly is Britain’s Ocean City”

 

Read more about Luke’s campaign for Plymouth Sound to be the UK’s first ever National Marine Park here

Prospectus – our proposals for a National Marine Park

In December 2018 Luke worked with Plymouth City Council to launch a prospectus setting out the proposals for the National Marine Park. This was the output of a number of roundtables and workshops Luke held with local stakeholders to feed into the proposal. This included feedback from marine scientists, fishing, commercial shipping, the Royal Navy and Queen’s Harbour Master, leisure groups and the City Council. 

The National Marine Park prospectus
The National Marine Park prospectus

READ THE NATIONAL MARINE PARK PROSPECTUS HERE 

The prospectus was launched at an event at Plymouth University’s Marine Station.  Read more about it here: https://www.lukepollard.org/news/2018/12/07/plymouth-mp-launches-bold-vision-for-uks-first-national-marine-park/

Read Luke’s submission to the consultation here

Designation of Plymouth Sound National Marine Park

Two years after Luke launched the campaign to designate Plymouth Sound as the UK’s first National Marine Park, Lewis Pugh, the UN’s Ocean Ambassador helped Plymouth City Council and Luke designate Plymouth Sound in a special ceremony on Plymouth Hoe.

 

Read more about the launch on Sky News https://news.sky.com/story/plymouth-set-to-be-the-home-of-uks-first-national-marine-park-11808533

Working with experts

Luke’s proposal for a National Marine Park has been heavily influenced by the work of Professor Martin Attrill from Plymouth University. Martin was the guest speaker at a special roundtable event in Westminster that Luke organised to discuss what a National Marine Park could mean for Plymouth and for Britain. 

Luke Pollard and Professor Martin Attrill
Luke Pollard and Professor Martin Attrill
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