The Leader introduced the item and highlighted: 

a)    The National Lottery would receive the Round Two submission for the National Marine Park that week; 
 

b)    It was important to celebrate the landscape, but it was unusual in that most of it was under the water and hidden from view so it was important to reconnect the people of Plymouth with the ocean, and Plymouth could be used as a blueprint for future National Marine Parks; 
 

c)    It was important that projects of such significance in the city were cross-party to survive changes of political administration; 
 

d)    It was a £22 million project and the bid was asking the National Lottery for £11,6 million; 
 

e)    10,000 people had been listened to in the development of the project with partners across the city, and schools would be engaged with to embed an NMP champion into every school in the city; 
 

f)     A digital park would be created for those who would not be able to access the water, or who might not want to; 
 

g)    A number of neglected buildings would be brought back into use across the foreshore. 

Councillor Tom Brairs-Delve (Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change) added: 

h)    Thanked the team for their hard work on the submission and said it had been a pleasure working with them; 
 

i)     There would be a nature boost programme to restore mudflats, sea grass and estuaries to bring back seahorses, sand eels, rare birds and fish; 
 

j)     Community Grants would be available to science and nature projects. 

At this point in the meeting, the video at this link was played: National Marine Park funding bid to be submitted - YouTube 

In response to questions Elaine Hayes (Interim CEO, National Marine Park), Kat Deeney (Head of Environmental Planning), David Draffan (Service Director for Economic Development), Chris Burton (Manager, Mount Edgcumbe), Rhys Jones (Chief Operating Officer, Plymouth Active Leisure), Alex King (Centre Manager, Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre) and Nicola Bridge (Head of Ocean Advocacy and Engagement, Ocean Conservation Trust) explained: 
 

k)    The team were most excited about the investment in nature was going to be transformative, the way partners had worked together on the bid and would continue to as the project progressed, the positive impact on water safety and sea swimming and would encourage more people to engage with the water, how engagement with local children and schools would improve, how it aimed to remove barriers for all people in accessing the water, and improvements to the buildings on the foreshore and better engagement with heritage. 

The Leader then reiterated: 
 

l)     The importance of having the first National Marine Park in Plymouth, and the importance of the designation of the first National Park in 1951 and the work that had been done to preserve areas across the country; 
 

m)  His thanks to the team for their hard work is getting the bid ready for submission.