National Marine Parks Update
Published: 24 June 2025
For many, the approaching summer months mean one thing – heading to the beach and dipping our toes (or entire bodies!) into the sea. Last week’s heatwaves saw thousands of people flock to their nearest blue spaces, to enjoy opportunities to keep cool, play, relax and explore, all whilst soaking in the stunning surroundings of the UK’s captivating coast and seascape. Whilst many of us are back sitting at desks and dreaming about our next trip to the sea, I thought it would be an opportune time to update you on our exciting National Marine Park work.
Over 70% of our planet’s surface is covered by ocean. Here in the UK, we are a collection of islands, fully surrounded by water. The UK boasts a dynamic and stunning coastline of over 30,000km, some of which is already included within our National Parks – but as of yet, none of our National Park boundaries extend into the ocean. Campaign for National Parks is therefore setting out to bring justice to our missing blue and lead the way on campaigning for National Parks that cover land, coast and sea.
Across 2025 so far, we continue to develop our understanding of the multiple pathways towards pursuing National Marine Park status, drawing on the great practice from Pembrokeshire (the only coastal National Park), Plymouth Sound (the first, and only, self-declared National Marine Park) and elsewhere. We’ve also been focussing on growing political support, which has burst into life through the establishment of our National Marine Parks Political Champions network, where we’re nurturing cross-party political interest in the UK’s National Marine Parks movement.
Of course, building political appetite is just one piece of the puzzle. We need to encourage and enable others to join alongside us, too. At the point of inception, the National Marine Parks vision was created with equity and inclusivity in mind. After meeting with a number of stakeholders from various parts of the UK over the past few months, it became increasingly apparent that there was a real need to establish a space where people from various sectors, backgrounds and lived experiences could collectively convene to exchange information and ideas, to shape a National Marine Park movement that truly represents the wonderfully diverse make-up of the UK – in people, seascape and marine activity. Enter, the National Marine Parks Alliance. The purpose of the Alliance is to form an inclusive UK network for the open exploration and development of the UK’s National Marine Park vision.
On Wednesday 25 June, 12:30 – 14:00, we will host our virtual launch event – and you are all invited. Through Alliance gatherings such as these, we will investigate challenges, capture learnings, build on opportunities, and continue to scale an already rapidly growing network of individuals interested in and passionate about the future of British seas.
You are warmly welcome to join the National Marine Parks Alliance. You can find out more about how to get involved by visiting our National Marine Parks page.