(a)

the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park (NMP) was presented to this Committee on 8 December 2021; the report set out an overview of all activity relating to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Heritage Horizon project;

(b)

the recommendation contained in the report submitted to the Committee at its December 2021 meeting relating to the Activity Plan for the NMP Horizons project to be submitted to the Committee in February 2022;

(c)

as per the Committee’s request, the Activity Plan sets out the aims and approach to community engagement and how the work would be evaluated and evolved, as a result of what had been learnt throughout the Activity Phase of the project.

(d)

sought clarification -

?

on whether during the engagement process there would be a review, in order to ensure that engagement was being undertaken with the hard too reach community group within the city, as these individuals could not be overlooked;

?

on whether the plan could emphasis not only the physical activities of the Park but also the wellbeing benefits it could offer (such as improving mental health wellness);

?

on how data would be captured and reported relating to those individuals that were making repeat visits to the Park;

?

on what measures would be put in place to ensure that deprived communities had the opportunity to access the facilities being offered by the Park, such as the Mount Batten water sports and activities centre;

?

on what measures would be put in place to ensure that certain demographics in the city did not miss out on engaging with National Marine Park; there was concern that the consultation taking place at the National Marine Aquarium,  as part of the  open day event would not be representative of the whole of the city, as those individuals from deprived areas may not be able to afford to travel to the Aquarium and may be unaware of the event due to being digitally excluded;  the impact on deprived communities also needed to be considered such as aspirations, understanding, child care, feeling safe to go to new places, etc);

?

on whether the Council as the freeholder, would take measures to maximise access to the water and foreshore; there had been a number of leaseholders who had stopped public access to these areas, as part of their business development plans: therefore would the Council not grant permission for the leaseholder to stop access;

?

on whether the Council had started conversations with organisations that were already using the waterfront (as individuals being encouraged to participate in the taster sessions and wishing to progress their interests, would need to be signposted to the relevant organisations; this engagement could also assist organisations with their funding bids);

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on whether the Council would be liaising with organisations that had undertaken consultation in the city, in order to share information, outcomes, etc.

(e)

the National Marine Park officers reach out to elected members, in order to identify relevant organisations for potential partnerships, in line with the Council’s community engagement policy and process;

(f)

the community strand of the Plan include health, wellbeing, emotional and educational access, as well as physical access.

(1)

to endorse the approach to the community engagement, as detailed in the NMP Horizons Activity Plan;

(2)

that it asks for the outputs and learning from the NMP Horizons Activity Plan delivery to be presented to it in March 2023, to enable any recommendation of the Committee to be included in the Delivery Phase Bid for the NMP Horizons project.