Earning unanimous consent for the Lower Otter Restoration Project
Earning unanimous consent for the Lower Otter Restoration Project
KOR Communications provided communications and community engagement across more than a decade for the Lower Otter Restoration Project, the £15 million Clinton Devon Estates and Environment Agency scheme returning 55 hectares of the Otter valley at Budleigh Salterton to tidal wetland. East Devon District Council granted unanimous consent in January 2021, and the embankment was breached in September 2023.
The project
The Lower Otter Restoration Project aimed to reconnect the River Otter to its historic floodplain at Budleigh Salterton by breaching the failing manmade embankments that had held back the sea for 200 years. Driven by climate change and increasing flood risk in the valley, Clinton Devon Estates acted early and ambitiously, in partnership with the Environment Agency, to allow natural processes to reclaim 55 hectares of farmland into a thriving intertidal wetland, which is now recognised as one of the most significant climate adaptation schemes in the South West of England.
KOR has worked with Clinton Devon Estates for 18 years and our involvement with the Lower Otter Restoration Project began more than a decade ago, when the Estate started to look into the future management of its land, specifically where the River Otter meets the sea at Budleigh Salterton.
The scheme itself was the result of years of consultation planning and engagement before consultation even began. We knew from the outset that communications would need to be carefully managed as the proposals would visibly change a much-loved landscape, relocate Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club from the floodplain and alter the route of footpaths. Residents, community groups and statutory stakeholders were kept informed and, where relevant, actively involved through every stage.
Our approach
We created a dedicated project website to serve as a single repository for all relevant information and documentation, publishing stakeholder group notes and minutes alongside regular project updates. Just as importantly, we sent newsletters to an ever-growing database of local people who signed up through the website, so that those most affected by the changes heard about them directly rather than second-hand.
We kept in regular contact with local reporters to make sure the media understood the proposals and reported accurately on the progress. Drone footage was captured at regular intervals to document the valley as it changed.
By the end of 2020 the planning application was ready. The Environmental Statement alone ran to hundreds of pages, so we prepared a clear, concise briefing note for elected members of East Devon District Council's planning committee to help them navigate the case for the project.
The outcome
In January 2021, members of East Devon District Council's planning committee granted unanimous consent for the proposals, which included a new raised road, a footbridge and new footpaths.
In September 2023, a 70-metre breach was made in the embankment, allowing the tide to flow back into the historic floodplain for the first time in 200 years.
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The Lower Otter Restoration Project reconnected the River Otter to its historic floodplain at Budleigh Salterton by breaching the failing manmade embankments that had held back the sea for 200 years. Driven by climate change and increasing flood risk in the valley, the scheme worked with natural processes, transforming 55 hectares of farmland into a thriving intertidal wetland rich in wildlife.
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The landscape has been transformed from pasture to saltmarsh and mudflats, and wading birds have returned to the estuary. A new raised road and bridge keep access open above flood levels, new pathways and viewing points invite people into the landscape, a new footbridge crosses the breach, and Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club has a new home on higher ground, beyond the floodplain.
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Years before the planning application, because a scheme that visibly changes a familiar landscape needs its case understood long before anyone is asked to support it. On the Lower Otter Restoration Project at Budleigh Salterton, KOR Communications supported engagement from the earliest stages of the Estate's thinking, through to the application at the end of 2020, and the proposals won unanimous consent from East Devon District Council in January 2021.