North Ayrshire Council has confirmed the continuation of its partnership with Crown Estate Scotland (CES). The agreement aims to support regeneration and economic development along the region’s coastline. The Cabinet approved plans to refresh the partnership agreement and memorandum of understanding for a further 12 months.
CES is a public corporation that manages property and natural resources, including seabeds, coastlines and rural estates. Its role is to help communities and businesses through the management of these assets. CES already manages a range of assets in the region, including ports, harbours, aquaculture sites and coastal infrastructure.
Councillor Christina Larsen, Cabinet Member for Finance & Procurement stated: “This is a valuable partnership, and I am pleased to see it continuing. Hopefully, going forward, we will work closely on projects that will make life better for residents and support our regeneration and economic development priorities.”
The renewed agreement supports work under the Ayrshire Growth Deal’s Marine Tourism Programme. The programme includes projects on the Isles of Arran and Cumbrae to create step-ashore marine infrastructure.
CES will continue to part fund the Marine Tourism Regeneration Manager post within the Council’s Growth and Investment team until June 2026. The role identifies marine tourism investment opportunities and engages with local communities and stakeholders.
Between 2025 and 2026, the partnership will work with community leads on Arran and Cumbrae to develop operational models for marina and pontoon facilities. It will also identify delivery partners, funding and investment opportunities.
The partnership also supports the Council’s Community Wealth Building strategy, which aims to retain wealth in North Ayrshire by increasing local employment and the use of local resources.
