faqS
We have received the following questions whilst engaging with local communities, stakeholders and parish councils during the Heaths to Sea development phase. The questions and their answers are shared below so that more people might understand about the project.
If you have any additional questions, please come talk to us at one of our engagement events or email us at mail@heathstosea.com.
Landscape recovery schemes were introduced by the government department DEFRA in 2022 for landowners and managers to take an ambitious and large-scale approach to restore and make space for nature alongside ensuring the other needs of society are met e.g. food production. These schemes are of national significance for the UK to meet its pledge to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/landscape-recovery-more-information-on-how-the-scheme-will-work/landscape-recovery-more-information-on-how-the-scheme-will-work
Our vision is for lower Otter valley to be a diverse landscape that is nature rich and ecologically healthy whilst also supporting food production, net zero, timber and access needs. We are also hoping to achieve a landscape that is resilient to climate change, that supports East Devon’s net zero and food production ambitions and that drives a stronger, greener and more sustainable economy.
Clinton Devon Estates has a majority landownership of the lower Otter valley, and an ethos of “doing today what is right for tomorrow”. We are recognised nationally as a leader in conservation management. The Estate owns the core area of the Pebblebed Heaths National Nature Reserve (NNR), which also now includes the Otter Estuary, with these sites managed by its conservation charity. The Otter Estuary was recently the focus of a nationally important climate adaptation and habitat creation project, completed in 2023.
There remain significant further opportunities for nature recovery in the lower Otter valley, including through wetland restoration and woodland creation, as well as enhancing biodiversity management across the farmed landscape more generally through sustainable agricultural practices. The Landscape Recovery scheme provides an opportunity for the Estate to not only restore further areas of habitats and support wildlife connectivity across the landscape, but also to stimulate the green economy and ‘future-proof’ the valley and local communities against the worst impacts of climate change. These impacts will include greater intensity of storms and heavier rainfall during the winter months as well as increased summer droughts. This project builds on the nature recovery work already undertaken through the Lower Otter Restoration Project.
The development phase of this project started spring 2024 and will be completed spring 2026. All Landscape Recovery projects start with a development phase which last two years after which plans for nature recovery are submitted to Defra for potential funding. These plans must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the government that they will support nature recovery, are technically possible to deliver and are realistically fundable. If these plans are accepted by Defra, the project can then enter a delivery phase which will last for a minimum of 20 years. The project team intends to submit plans to Defra by December 2025. There will then be a negotiation period before any delivery phase can start. The likely earliest delivery start would be April 2026. We are unable to guarantee that the plans proposed by the Heaths to Sea initiative will be taken forward for delivery, but that is our hope.
All landscape recovery projects will be funded by a combination of public and private investment. The development phase of this project is costing £750K. This money will be spent to provide the knowledge to develop the plans, including, for example, the commissioning of ecological, hydrological and heritage studies. As yet we do not know what the costs will be for the long-term delivery of the plans should they be approved as the plans have yet to be developed. This remains a work in progress. It is likely that a significant proportion of initial capital funding for delivery will come from public money through DEFRA’s existing Environmental Land Management schemes. However, we will be developing a viable, sustainable business model for the lifetime of the project, which is expected to include elements of private finance.
DEFRA are supporting the 2-year development phase costs of all Round 1 and 2 Landscape Recovery projects. Our project was funded in Round 2 and will not directly compete against other projects. All initiatives will need to show that they are delivering highly significant benefits for nature and that they provide good value for money. Each project will therefore be assessed for taking forward on its own merits. Nationally, there are over 50 landscape recovery schemes currently being developed with a significant number located in the South West. Just under half of all schemes are coming to the end of their development phase. Not all projects will necessarily proceed to delivery. “Subject to reaching agreement on suitable funding, projects will then move into implementation”.
Clinton Devon Estate is the majority landowner across the ca. 4,500ha project area, with ca. 200-300 ha of more marginally productive agricultural land, or land at risk of flooding, identified as having highly significant potential for nature restoration. This includes through riparian planting, river and floodplain restoration, multi-purpose woodland creation and possibly even wilding. The majority of this land is located on the Estate’s Home Farm over which it has direct management control. A number of other land-owning parties are also involved in the project including Bicton College and the RSPB. They retain full land management control.
We are also working with tenant farmers in the Otter catchment who have expressed an interest in exploring the opportunities for their business that exist through nature restoration and adaptation of their existing farming operations. The Estate and its tenants remain committed to food production and the plans taken forward for any land area will depend on its location, environmental qualities or potential, and the current farming business model.
No, there is no compulsion for any landowner or tenant farmer to be involved. All have initially signed up to be involved in the development phases voluntarily. All retain the option to withdraw from the project at any time. We describe the broad project area as the lower Otter valley: from Newton Poppleford in the north to the Estuary in the south, and from the core area of the Pebblebed Heaths in the west to Mutters Moor in the east. We are working with all interested parties to try and find the best solution for nature recovery whilst maintaining food, timber production and access needs. During the development phase some land managers may wish to opt out. They are able to do so. For some farms, only small-scale changes may be appropriate. For others more significant land management changes may result. In every case, any changes will be agreed with the land manager and will aim to be economically beneficial to the land manager whilst supporting long-term nature recovery.
Throughout the development phase local communities are being consulted and engaged as plans develop and there will be opportunities for involvement in any potential delivery phase through, for example, nature-based social and volunteering activities, including monitoring of outcomes through citizen science.
The project Governance includes: A Project Board consisting of members of Clinton Devon Estate’s leadership team and an Environment Agency advisor; a Technical Advisory Group comprising a wide range of stakeholders who can advise on technical aspects of the project (e.g. RSPB, South West Water, Devon Wildlife Trust, East Devon District Council, Devon County Council, the Environment Agency etc.); a Stakeholder Communication Advisory Group which includes a range of civic societies, special interest groups and representation from parish and district councils; a Green Finance Advisory Group providing advice and support on long-term funding models. Those who have land ownership or land management control, including tenant farmers, will decide what plans get taken forward. DEFRA will decide whether any project will receive public funding for delivery.
Much of the land within the lower Otter catchment is high quality agricultural land. Clinton Devon Estate is committed to food production and supporting its farming tenants to be both productive and profitable. We believe that nature recovery is compatible within a productive landscape. We are working with our tenants to design plans that reduce current environmental business risk, work with the realities of climate change, meet the needs of nature and help fulfil our tenants’ individual business ambitions. Participation in the long-term delivery of a landscape recovery project can also provide security of income for the farming sector.
Stakeholder engagement during the development phase is being guided by a Stakeholder Communication Advisory Group and independent engagement specialists. Work has already begun to understand local community priorities and concerns related to this scheme and this work will continue throughout 2025. There is a desire that any plans resulting from this initiative have broad community support and meet local priorities. For the project to proceed to delivery at the end of the development phase it must also provide a fundable proposition for landscape recovery that fulfils the government’s objectives for this scheme, be technically feasible to deliver on the ground, and be affordable and adequately financed with the support of those managing the land. Thus, it may not be possible to accommodate all community and stakeholder wishes into the plan, but where it is not possible to take suggestions forward to delivery, the reasons why will be made clear.
Significant areas of land in East Devon are used to grow maize for use, predominantly, as feed for cattle or as an input crop into anaerobic digestors. Poorly managed, the growing of maize can lead to environmental problems including soil loss and water run-off that can exacerbate flooding. We are working with our tenants, other local landowners and the Environment Agency to promote better maize husbandry and share best practice, including through trialling of new approaches which can greatly reduce negative impacts. The Heaths to Sea project is not looking to eradicate the growing of maize which is an important part of agriculture.
The term rewilding can mean many things to many people. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines Rewilding as “the practice of helping large areas of land to return to their natural state”. The Oxford Reference Dictionary of Biology expands this definition of to “The large-scale management of an ecosystem to reinstate natural processes and reduce human intervention so that ultimately ‘nature can take care of itself’. It typically involves reintroduction of indigenous ‘keystone’ species that previously filled key ecological roles in maintaining the historical ‘wild’ landscape or seascape. Coupled with this is a return to more natural patterns of drainage and less intensive farming.”
The Heaths to Sea project landscape is predominantly an agricultural and productive one. Land use choices for the lower Otter catchment should therefore include continued food and timber production. As such we are not advocating a wholesale ‘rewilding’ of the landscape that is being progressed in other areas e.g. Knepp (https://knepp.co.uk/). However, releasing areas of more marginal land for wildlife following the principles of working with, rather than against, natural processes, will inform our approach to nature recovery. We are consulting with a wide range of experts to develop a variety of alternative future land use scenarios.
Otterton Hill is the steep western scarp between Bulverton Plantation/Mutters Moor and the lane between Newton Poppleford, Northmostown and Otterton. This is an area of more marginally productive agricultural land which we believe has the potential for nature restoration. This land is owned by Clinton Devon Estates and currently farmed by the Estate and several tenants, and we are looking at options for alternative uses as part of this scheme.
There are currently multiple beaver family groups thriving in the wider Otter catchment. Approximately five occur within the project area. The project is not looking to reintroduce further beavers. However, the project is seeking to restore areas of floodplain and wet woodland associated with the main Otter river and its tributaries. The creation of such habitat will be to the benefit of beavers as well as a range of other wetland wildlife. We believe the project can also reduce conflict between beaver and farming activity and reward farmers whose land is currently impacted by beaver activity and which supports wetland and wildlife.
The project team is working with and seeking advice from a wide range of independent organisations through the auspices of its Technical Advisory Group. This includes the RSPB and the Devon Wildlife Trust as well as the East Devon National Landscape. The Heaths to Sea project should assist with the delivery of National Landscape targets and outcomes relating to landscape, wildlife, woodland and people. You can find out more about the targets for National Landscapes and Parks or the work of East Devon National Landscape.
A number of communities within the project area have suffered from flooding, including Newton Poppleford, Colaton Raleigh, East Budleigh and Otterton. The project is seeking to reduce flood risk through management changes that slow the flow of water through the landscape after heavy rainfall. It may not necessarily be able to eradicate all flooding, especially if houses exist in areas of high flood risk, for example, the floodplain. The project team is working with and seeking advice on this issue from a wide range of independent organisations including the Environment Agency. This includes working in partnership with an allied project led by the Environment Agency called the Climate Resilient Otter Catchment which seeks to reduce flood risk locally. Any proposals resulting from the Heaths to Sea project would have to satisfy statutory Flood Risk Assessments and project plans would not be able to proceed if they increased flood risk. The aim is to do the exact opposite.
The Landscape Recovery Project will be driving nature recovery across more than 4,500 ha. Within this area, the Estate is proposing less than 5 ha of land (which is identified in the local plan) for development. Clinton Devon Estates manages its land for a range of purposes which meet the needs of local communities, including areas managed for conservation and access, land for food and timber production and, where appropriate, supporting development of local housing and infrastructure, including affordable housing. Clinton Devon Estates will continue to work with East Devon District Council and local communities to look at where we can support the provision of local housing needs on land identified through the local plan. On any proposed development the Estate will ensure that, where possible, Environmental and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is achieved within the development site, or where this cannot be achieved it could be delivered locally through the Heaths to Sea Landscape Recovery Project.
A key objective for all landscape recovery projects is that they improve engagement with nature, including through physical access as well as emotional and intellectual connection. The lower Otter valley has a rich network of footpaths which the project is seeking to enhance/build upon. Some of the existing footpaths are currently at risk from erosion, especially where they run immediately adjacent to the river which floods on a regular basis. Management costs to maintain these footpaths are increasingly difficult to find by the responsible authorities.
The Heaths to Sea project is working with Devon County Council’s Public Rights of Way team, the Devon Countryside Access Forum and local parish councils to identify new opportunities to improve access to the countryside, or to make the management of those which already exist more sustainable. It is unlikely that the project will be advocating new raised infrastructure for riverside footpaths due to the long-term maintenance costs such interventions usually involve. Rather, we will look to de-risk existing threatened footpaths through land management changes, for example, by providing additional space for current access lines to evolve and move as the river also moves naturally. Should conflicts arise between the nature restoration and access enhancement aspirations of the scheme, we will work with the statutory authorities responsible for access and bodies that promote public access to find a solution. The footpath on the western side of the valley immediately north of Budleigh Salterton that was improved and widened as part of the Lower Otter Restoration Project does flood tidally on very high spring tides with the frequency and duration of flooding relatively low. This footpath has been designed to withstand flooding and there are no plans to raise it.
The project will need to develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan to demonstrate over a long period of time (20 years+) that its objectives have been achieved. As the project plans have not been finalised this has not yet been written but is likely to include the monitoring of water quality, the populations of priority species, an assessment of habitat quality as well as access and engagement outcomes.
Contact
If you need any further information, please get in touch.
Clinton Devon Estates
Rolle Estate Office
Bicton Arena,
East Budleigh,
Budleigh Salterton,
Devon
EX9 7BL
mail@heathstosea.com
