Partnership with body that manages coastline continues

North Ayrshire Council has approved arrangements to continue working closely with Crown Estate Scotland to further boost regeneration and economic development.

Crown Estate Scotland (CES) is a public corporation that invests in and manages property and natural resources – including the seabed, coastline, parts of the foreshore and rural estates – to help businesses and communities thrive.

On Tuesday, October 28, Cabinet approved plans to continue the partnership agreement, which will explore future investment opportunities across North Ayrshire.

This will result in the refresh of the partnership agreement and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a further twelve months.

This follows the initial agreement by Cabinet in March 2020 and further renewal in August 2023.

CES was established to manage Crown Estate assets and has numerous agreements across the region in relation to ports and harbours, cables and pipelines, aquaculture and outfalls.

The organisation is committed to its vision of ‘communities and businesses thriving through enterprising and sustainable development of property and natural resources.’

To date, the partnership has explored a range of potential investment opportunities for CES, including support of Ayrshire Growth Deal projects. This has established that the main joint working opportunities are likely to arise through the Marine Tourism Programme.

As part of the partnership, CES has part funded the Marine Tourism Regeneration Manager post within the Council’s Growth and Investment team and has confirmed the continuation of this funding until June 2026.

This post is focused on identifying marine tourism investment opportunities in alignment with the Marine Tourism Programme. The continued partnership will seek to:

• Engage and consult with communities and stakeholders on Arran and Cumbrae to enable the progress of the Ayrshire Growth Deal marine infrastructure projects and related business cases during 2025/26
• Work with community leads within Cumbrae and Arran during 2025/26, to develop an operating model for the successful delivery of community marina and pontoon facilities at these key locations - linked to the Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Identify and secure suitable delivery partners, funding and/or investment opportunities to maximise benefits for programme outcomes and
• Support CES marine tourism partnership work within the region by facilitating engagement with the sector and local communities.

Agreeing the MoU also supports and promotes Community Wealth Building, with a focus on empowering coastal and island communities through the identification and delivery of place-based projects.

The Community Wealth Building economic model sees wealth being retained in North Ayrshire thanks to the Council and partners increasing employment and using local produce and resources.

Cabinet approved the extension of the updated MoU for 12 months to support the Council’s regeneration and economic development priorities as well as the Ayrshire Growth Deal Marine Tourism Programme.

Published: 04 November 2025