EAST GRAMPIAN COASTAL PARTNERSHIP LTD

BUSINESS PLAN 2021 Collieston,

2021 East Grampian Coastal Partnership (EGCP) Business Plan

Introduction and Context For over 15 years, the East Grampian Coastal Partnership has helped connect people to the coast. Our programme of work has encompassed research into the state of our coast, community engagement in appreciating its rugged beauty and magnificent wildlife, publicising proposals to develop coastal resources sustainably and even the practical organisation of cleaning up marine litter that spoils the environment.

We are one of six Partnerships in delivering an integrated approach to coastal management. Increasingly, our work will address the links between coastal waters, onshore and offshore marine activities. We are now entering a period of transition as the focus on coastal management expands to consider marine planning.

The Scottish Government has created a National Marine Plan, which enables decisions about developments in our waters to be taken within an overarching framework that considers all marine activities. At the same time, it acknowledges the frameworks governing the way we use land and marine resources. The first Scottish National Marine Plan was published in 2015 and will, eventually, be complemented by a framework of 11 Regional Marine Plans covering the coastline around Scotland and the seas out to twelve (12) nautical miles. Each is to be prepared by a new Regional Marine Planning Partnership.

The first Marine Planning Partnerships were created for the Firth of Clyde and the Shetland Islands. There is an expectation that a Marine Planning Partnership for the North East Marine Region will be established in due course. EGCP has started some of the preliminary work that might support Regional Marine Planning and has already been incorporated as a data layer within the Scottish Government’s inter-active digital atlas of marine information NMPi.

Whilst preparing for the longer-term goal, it is equally important that we deliver local projects along our coastline. In its first decade, the East Grampian Coastal Partnership helped to bring seaside awards to local beaches, improved

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We are now two years into the Turning the Plastic Tide project. Since its launch in August 2018, this project has removed over 25 tonnes of rubbish from local beaches, engaged 2500 volunteers at beach cleans and 2200 children through school workshops. It has received local and national funding and has been a major success in engaging individuals, communities, schools and business to help improve our coastline. Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic has clearly impacted upon our 2020 beach cleaning activities, we would hope to be back in ‘beach clean mode’ by mid-2021.

EGCP have also launched a further phase of our Discover Maps project which aims to produce four digital maps extending from to - each of which focuses on our Coastal heritage, and contain historical, natural and cultural highlights of our coast, reveal places of interest and include two interactive coastal walks. The first of these four maps, covering the City coast, will be issued in the first quarter of 2021. The remaining three coastal maps for , and Mearns will be completed during 2021.

Much has been achieved in 2020, but there is more to be done to safeguard and develop the unique features of our coast. Our proposals for the next two years are set out in this Business Plan. We look forward to working with you to continue the work of EGCP Ltd. as we move into 2021 and beyond.

Please keep safe in these difficult times.

David R. Green, Chairman, East Grampian Coastal Partnership Ltd.

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1. Setting the Scene – an evolving strategic context

1.1 Marine planning, as set out in the Marine (Scotland) 2010 Act, is a system to guide, regulate and address activities in the marine environment. It will need to inter-relate with the terrestrial system, and vice versa.

1.2 The Marine (Scotland) Act is the primary legislation for Scotland’s Territorial Seas but the waters beyond 12 nautical miles are subject to the UK Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009. However, an agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments has allowed Scottish Ministers to plan for all the waters around Scotland, out to 200 nautical miles, under the 2015 Scottish National Marine Plan. Marine planning is also being carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1.3 The Marine (Scotland) Act provides for the functions relating to marine planning at the regional level, out to 12 nautical miles, to be delegated to an appropriate body, to be known as a Marine Planning Partnership.

1.4 It is intended that Marine Planning Partnerships in Scotland will be established over a number of years. In the meantime, Local Coastal Partnerships such as the EGCP will continue with their delivery of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) and contribute to the preparatory work for future Marine Planning Partnerships.

1.5 The UK, being a European Member State until 2021, has had to comply with relevant European legislation. The EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (2014/89/EU) required coastal Member States to prepare marine plans that: take into account interactions between the sea and land; establish means of public participation for stakeholders, authorities and the public concerned; use the best available data and organise the sharing of information between stakeholders. This is unlikely to change due to Brexit.

1.6 Scotland’s network of Local Coastal Partnerships, of which the EGCP is part, is well-placed to help deliver this work, using its experience of stakeholder engagement and Integrated Coastal Management (ICM), which is defined as a dynamic and continuous process designed to promote sustainable management of coastal zones.

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2. Purpose of EGCP

2.1 The East Grampian Coastal Partnership (EGCP) was created in 2005 and in 2015 completed its first year as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Whilst the structure of the organisation and the policy context in which it operates might have changed, the original aim of facilitating the delivery of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) in the north east of Scotland has not.

2.2 EGCP’s purpose is to facilitate the delivery of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) between Kinnaird Head, Fraserburgh to the Aberdeenshire/ Angus Council boundary at the mouth of the River North Esk, by St Cyrus.

3. Objectives of EGCP

3.1 EGCP’s objectives are set out in the company’s Memorandum and Articles, which state that for the coastal environment of the North East of Scotland it will: I. advance environmental protection and improvement; II. advance education related to the coastal environment; III. preserve the heritage relating to the culture of the coast of the north east of Scotland, by: a. delivering integrated coastal management projects and programmes; b. working in partnership with other bodies to achieve these purposes.

4. EGCP Projects

In 2021/22, we propose to deliver the following projects: -

4.1 EGCP- ‘Turning the Plastic Tide’, a multi-year Marine Litter Project to educate and engage individuals, communities, and organisations in physically improving the condition of East Grampian beaches for the benefit of all stakeholders. This project made excellent progress in 2019 following the employment of the Project Officer (Crawford Paris) in August 2018. The achievements since project start are captured in the following document.

EGCP-TTPT Project Report (2018-2020).pdf

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NB. Due to the Covid-19 Virus, it is unlikely that any large-scale beach cleans will be undertaken until mid-2021, however we have developed supporting documents that allow individuals to undertake personal Covid risk assessed beach cleans when the opportunity for group activities is limited.

4.2 ‘Discover Maps’ is (initially) a 2-year project, which commenced at the end of 2019, to educate and engage locals and visitors about the East Grampian coast, and will include the development and marketing of four unique digital maps covering the coast from Fraserburgh to St Cyrus. The Discover Maps project proposes a very different and sustainable approach to traditional maps. These maps will be unique, capturing the heritage of our Coast by bringing together stories, memories and history from individuals and communities, in a digital (and subject to demand, paper) product that will engage locals and visitors alike, and lead to an enhanced and responsible approach to tourism for our Coast. This in turn will generate opportunities for businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector.

The Project will produce three free-to-access Discover Maps, in digital (PDF) format, covering the area from to Blackdog, Muchalls to St Cyrus and Fraserburgh to Peterhead. These will be the second, third and fourth maps in a four-map series that covers the entire Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire coast. The first map, covering the Aberdeen city coast is currently being drafted. The illustration below shows the proposed coverage of the maps, and a schematic from the back of the Aberdeen map.

MAP Back.pdf

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Developing a well-designed and illustrated map to disseminate coastal heritage for our coastline is a novel approach that has been very successful in the ‘Seldom Seen’, project in Morecambe Bay, where such maps have enabled individuals and communities to better reconnect with the coastline. This will be especially important now that we are at the end of the Covid-19 restrictions and people are able to travel to the coast for recreation and leisure activities. Making them free-to-access via our website and mobile devices should ensure a good take-up by the community.

It is our intention that these Discover maps will be reprinted and updated every two to three years. Routes will be updated, and new stories and recollections will be added, together with updated themes and articles, as described above. We will also maintain a virtual community on social media and through the EGCP website e.g. using Google Earth and crowd sourcing, where individuals and communities will share their knowledge and interest.

4.3 Improving our coast/Re-engaging with the coast post-Covid-19

Further coastal projects during 2021/2 will include:

4.3.1 Holding Art and Photographic competitions to celebrate our Coast.

4.3.2 Engaging with local communities and organisations to improve Footpath access, signage, toilet/disabled service information and provide essential path repair for the Discover map walk.

4.3.3 Developing guides for further coastal walks/cycle routes

4.3.4 Sharing EGCP newsletters, guides and maps with coastal communities and organisations.

4.4 Marine Scotland sponsored projects

4.4.1 ‘SEaCoRPs (Scottish East Coast Review Project)’

The project is being completed in conjunction with the Moray Firth Partnership and is being led by the Forth Estuary Forum and will ultimately inform a Marine Plan for the whole East Coast of Scotland. If successful, this project will employ

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3 Project Officers one of whom will be based with EGCP. This project will result in a 10-year update to the 2009 ‘State of the East Grampian Coast’ Report.

NB. This is currently on-hold due to the Covid-19 virus - as staff in other Coastal Partnerships we are working with have been furloughed - but will likely restart in 1Q 2021.

In the meantime, we can do useful preparation by completing a Main Issues Report, per below.

4.4.2 Main Issues Report

During 2019/20 the Forth Estuary Forum delivered a Main Issues Report identifying problems and opportunities that need to be addressed by Regional Marine Planning in the Forth.

Completing a comprehensive equivalent report in 2021 would be a very useful exercise for the East Grampian area. It would be a major deliverable for our Marine Scotland funding, and can also be used to identify future priorities for EGCP. We are identifying the main problems and opportunities from a sectoral iterations matrix , and putting them into a table with possible solutions. Each issue is divided into current observations from relevant stakeholders and a recommendation for the Regional Marine Plan.

We will then undertake a consultation on this and present it to Marine Scotland. This will also suggest how we could deal with these prioritised issues in coming years, as part of our Business Plan and ongoing projects.

4.4.3 Consider important/key issues for terrestrial policy to support alignment between terrestrial and marine planning areas.

EGCP has developed links with the planning team in Aberdeenshire Council and is planning on holding a training event, including a beach clean, with planners when Covid-19 restrictions permit.

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5. Key Projects Actions for 2021

5.1 EGCP Turning the Plastic Tide

Activities for 2021 include:

5.1.1 Expanding TTPT – North coast Aberdeenshire (subject to Crown Estate funding), Moray coast (in collaboration with Moray Firth Coastal Partnership)

5.1.2 TTPT Aberdeen PHASE 1: installing ‘Take 4 for the Shore’ box at Greyhope Bay, Safe Beach Clean Guides on seaside noticeboards, Education Outreach. PHASE 2 (subject to Crown Estate funding): install additional Take 4 for the Shore boxes at Aberdeen Beachfront, plus a limited number of virtual educational workshops. 5.1.3 Film/Media – Produce a short film promoting Health and Wellbeing benefits of beach cleaning.

5.1.4 TTPT Art and photographic competitions

5.1.5 School Education – o Continued development and marketing of online resources. o Social media competitions during periods of lockdown. o Delivery of virtual workshops subject to schools reopening.

5.1.6 Beach Cleans – Recommence, potentially from mid-2021, subject to Covid-19 restrictions.

5.2 Discover Maps

5.2.1 The first map (Aberdeen) will be completed by the end of the first quarter 2021.

5.2.2 The remaining three maps will be completed by the end of 2021.

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5.3 Improving our coast/Re-engaging with the coast post-Covid-19?

5.3.1 Hold one Art and one photographic competitions to celebrate our Coast

5.3.2 Engage with local communities and organisations to improve Footpath access, signage, toilet/disabled service information and provide essential path repair for the two Aberdeen Discover map walks.

5.3.3 Develop guides for further coastal walks/cycle routes once the 4 Discover maps have been published in 2021.

5.3.4 Share EGCP newsletters, guides and maps with Aberdeen City and Shire Councils and with Nature reserves

5.4 Marine Scotland sponsored projects

5.4.1 SEaCoRPs

This action is on hold pending discussion with the Fort Estuary Forum

5.4.2 Main Issues Report

This will be produced (cf Forth Estuary Report issued 1Q 2020) by end 1Q 2021.

We will consult on this during 2Q 2021.

6. Key Funding and Finance Actions for 2021/22

6.1 Core funding

6.1.1 EGCP is funded by Marine Scotland, Peterhead Port Authority and Aberdeenshire council, but this does not cover the full extent of our core costs and therefore further core funding of £10-15k needs to be sought for financial year 2021/22.

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6.1.2 It is also key that all new projects contain an element of core funding to ensure a small surplus is made to ensure the continuation of the organisation.

6.1.3 The EGCP website will be upgraded to enable people to donate to EGCP core funds.

6.2 Turning the Plastic Tide

6.2.1 TTPT has a full time Project Officer (Manager) funded by Aberdeen Council (ex-Crown Estates) until 31 March 2021.The funding objectives until then are to ensure all costs are claimed and recovered against the specific project categories.

6.2.2 It also key that we secure funding of £30k for the 2021/2 financial year from public and private organisations.

6.2.3 Take 4 for the Shore – we will seek funding for at least 4 additional boxes along the coast. 6.3 Discover Maps

Partial funding by Shell has us to develop the first Discover map for Aberdeen City. Further funding was obtained from NESFLAG in November 2020 (funding until end 2021) and will deliver three further ‘Discover’ maps (Fraserburgh to Peterhead (the Buchan Coast) Peterhead to Blackdog (the Formartine Coast) and Muchalls to River North Esk(the Mearns Coast) and will also fund a film capturing the highlights of our Coast. The funding objectives for 2021 are to ensure all costs are claimed and recovered against the specific project categories.

6.4 Improving our coast/Re-engaging with the coast post-Covid-19?

6.4.1 We will raise £5-10k to allow us to engage with local communities and organisations to improve Footpath access, signage, toilet/disabled service information and provide essential path repair for the two Aberdeen Discover map walks.

6.4.2 We will raise £5k to share and display EGCP newsletters, publications and maps with Aberdeen City and Shire Councils, and Nature reserves.

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6.5 Marine Scotland sponsored projects

SEaCoRPs - a joint funding was secured by the Forth Estuary Forum to the EMFF on behalf of Moray Firth Partnership, EGCP, Tay Estuary Forum and Forth Estuary Forum, in 2019. Given Covid-19, this work has been on hold during 2020, but discussion on restarting this project is underway.

6.6 Funding spreadsheet

A funding spreadsheet has been developed to ensure all core and project funding options are captured, and individual accountabilities for pursuing funding are identified and progress recorded.

7.Key Communications/Admin Actions for 2021/22

Our current and potential projects also have the benefit of increasing the profile of EGCP by demonstrating value for money to our funders, increasing our awareness amongst potential funders, increasing volunteering opportunities and encouraging new staff/directors for EGCP.

7.1 Website. The EGCP website was overhauled in 2020 and a new domain name selected (egcp.scot), and the content has been refreshed and made more attractive to site visitors and potential funders. The 2021 objective is to ensure that this quality is maintained throughout the year and to develop a number of new pages and activities.

7.2 Social Media. EGCP now has dedicated Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds for Turning the Plastic Tide. In addition, an EGCP TTPT company profile has been loaded onto LinkedIn to broaden our engagement with individuals and companies.

7.3 Press Engagement. During 2021 at least 3 press releases will be made (including one for the Discover maps launch), excluding Turning the Plastic Tide which will also make at least 3 releases.

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7.4 Marketing Material

7.4.1 EGCP will continue to develop new marketing material including pull-up banners, business cards and a new leaflet explaining our role.

7.4.2 We will continue to use EGCP Turning the Plastic Tide banners and T- shirts at beach clean events and in school visits/communications and (e.g art and photographic) competitions.

7.4.3 We will develop ‘Beach Clean’ videos and handbooks which may be marketable to companies, and other coastal organisations in the UK.

7.4.4 We will investigate the future (post 2021) sale of Discover maps and digital media as a source of income for EGCP.

7.4.5 We will continue to produce a quarterly EGCP Newsletter for digital distribution to all our stakeholders.

7.4.6 We will issue e mail news articles and make the PDF versions online.

7.5 Data gathering and bottom up planning.

7.5.1 A key principle of EGCP is the delivery of the ‘bottom up’ process of Integrated Coastal Zone Management. For this to work we need to be approachable to coastal stakeholders so that they can air their opinions, opportunities and issues. However, we also need to be proactive in gathering opinions through face-to-face (F2F) engagement. It is proposed that during second half of 2021 and 2022, EGCP holds on-site engagement events to gather data and ideas.

7.5.2 We will also deliver this through the Coastal Connects networking project which has a web (www.egcpcoastalconnects.com) and Facebook(@EGCPCoastal Connects) element to engage with local communities

7.6 Networking We will continue to work with the other 50 Coastal Partnerships in the UK to share best practice and ideas, to ensure we optimise our activities, develop best practice and share ideas for fund raising. http://www.coastalpartnershipsnetwork.org.uk/

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7.7 Staffing

7.7.1 We will appoint a volunteer fundraiser, finance advisor and two other directors during 2021.

7.7.2 To further develop the Discover maps we have hired external resources in 3Q 2020 to develop the content for Maps 2-4 and to produce the associated film.

7.7.3 We will hire further resources as required, to deliver any additional funded projects.

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