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Answers to the most frequently asked questions about the project are available here.
Environment
Environmental Statement To see the Lower Otter Restoration Project Environmental Statement, click here.
Kier Newsletter
Please click here to read the April 2022 Kier Lower Otter Restoration Project newsletter.
Update on bridge work 21 April 2022: Building of the new road embankment and a 30m-span bridge, to carry vehicles over the new creek network on the west of the Lower Otter valley in Budleigh Salterton, enters a new phase next week. Click here to read more
Otter Estuary timeline: hundreds of years of change
We are currently in phase four of the project: construction and implementation.
The first exploratory phase began in July 2014 and continued until late 2016. The objective of phase one was to decide whether a managed realignment project was conceptually possible and worth seriously considering for the Lower Otter Valley.
Once we believed that was the case, the initiative moved to a second phase, which involved securing funding from a range of sources to allow detailed evidenced-based investigations to be undertaken. This phase concluded that a socially, technically, environmentally and financially acceptable solution existed to preserve and improve the Lower Otter in the face of climate change. Designs for the managed realignment scheme were developed and shared with stakeholders for comment, before the project proceeded to the third phase.
Investigations during the second phase considered: the liability presented by the old local tip situated within the floodplain; the vulnerability of adjacent cliffs to erosion; ground level surveys to understand and model inundation throughout the zone potentially influenced by proposals; options to maintain and improve public access, including South Farm Road; options to relocate the cricket club; potential health issues associated with the project; and additional technical work required to understand the impact and feasibility of project options.
The third phase involved developing detailed designs and seeking planning and other necessary consents from a variety of authorities for the agreed proposals.
Once sufficient funding was secured and regulatory approvals were granted, the fourth phase of the project involving construction and implementation started in early 2021.
The phases of the project
Click here to see the expected implementation timeline
