National Marine Parks

What is a National Marine Park?

National Marine Parks are expansive areas of sea, coast and land; seascapes of national importance. The aim of a National Marine Park is to connect people with the sea. Like a National Park on land, their purpose is to enhance wildlife, conserve cultural heritage and promote public understanding, access and enjoyment. There is also a crucial role in supporting climate resilience and regeneration of coastal communities.   

We believe that in future, a new National Park in the UK should include land, coast and sea – the first designated National Marine Park. Like the existing 15 National Parks, this would be an area that is legally protected, forever, and supported with Government funding with a public body set up to ensure these purposes are delivered.

There are many ways to progress National Marine Park status. In Plymouth, communities have taken things into their own hands. In 2019, the council and people across the city came together to declare Plymouth Sound as the first National Marine Park. Supported by a National Lottery grant of £11.6m and the support of the City Council, this community-led initiative embodies the spirit of National Parks (if not the legal designation). It is forging a new relationship between the city and the sea, with a ranger service encouraging people to become ‘Marine Citizens’, fostering care and behaviour change.  

How we’re working to make National Marine Parks a reality

In 2023, we joined with Blue Marine Foundation to produce a framework for taking forward National Marine Parks.  In 2024, Campaign for National Parks is picking up the mantle in the quest for new National Marine Parks in the UK, as part of a new partnership with Blue Marine and Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, and thanks to funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

Our project will build community and government for National Marine Parks across the UK’s land, coast and sea. The project will support a new Campaign for National Parks team member to lead the project and work with partners, communities and our Council members. The project aims to:   

• increase awareness, appetite and interest in National Marine Parks; 
• secure political commitment for progressing National Marine Parks; and 
• build on and develop legal and governance models to understand how National Marine Parks can deliver for nature and communities.

By pursuing a radical new model for National Parks – one that will require new ways of doing things, new governance arrangements and greater engagement with communities – we will lever change for the existing National Parks. There’s clear evidence that the way National Parks are managed and governed needs real reform to deliver more for nature and to ensure these places are inclusive and representative of the nation. By setting out different options for National Marine Parks, working closely with the existing National Parks and National Landscapes, and community groups, we will provoke different possibilities and build momentum for nature recovery on land, as well as at sea.