The Environment Agency, on behalf of the Lower Otter Restoration Project, has been granted a virtual plaque after planting 225 trees to form part of the Queen’s Green Canopy which marked the 2022 Platinum Jubilee.
2 January 2024:After a fascinating journey over the past few years, we are pleased to be able to say that the construction phase of the pioneering Lower Otter Restoration Project is now complete.
As a result, this website will no longer be updated, but it is our intention that it should remain available online as a publicly available source of information until the end of 2024.
To comply with data protection legislation, the project mailing list is being deleted as no fresh updates will be issued by this route.
You can still email the project team and your message will be passed to the most relevant team member for a response.
On behalf of the whole team we would like to thank all those partners and members of the public who have supported us in this challenging and important project which has led to the creation of 55ha of fantastic intertidal habitat, benefiting wildlife and the community.
Residents celebrate opening of the 'Elizabeth Bridge'
24 November 2023: The brand new 70m "Elizabeth Bridge" has been officially opened by Hon. Charles Fane Trefusis and Mark Rice, Environment Agency Area Director, marking a significant milestone for the project.
The Lower Otter Estuary is a very special place. It is home to local people and businesses. It provides habitat for a wide variety of breeding and wintering bird species, and it is enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors each year.
But this coastal community, like many others, faces growing challenges due to climate change. As the oceans warm up, they take up more space and sea levels rise. We are also seeing more extreme storms and rainfall events which increase the intensity and erosional power of rivers and the sea.
The Lower Otter Restoration Project iworked with local people and partner organisations to adapt and enhance the downstream part of the River Otter, its estuary, and its immediate surroundings for future generations in the face of a rapidly changing climate.
We undertook a managed realignment scheme where the River Otter meets the sea near Budleigh Salterton in East Devon. The project was delivered because the previous 200-year-old sea defences were starting to fail and were becoming increasingly hard to maintain. This affected public infrastructure, local businesses and homes, and recreational facilities.
The major partners in the Lower Otter Restoration Project include Clinton Devon Estates, who own the land around the estuary, and the Environment Agency, the government body which has responsibility for improving resilience to climate change, flood defence, increasing biodiversity and improving habitats and water quality.
Find out more about the challenges facing the Lower Otter Estuary, managed realignment and the timeline for this project.
The changing landscape
Click here to see a specially prepared video showing drone footage of the project site from August 2021 and August 2022 side-by-side.
Adapting landscapes: The Lower Otter Restoration Project
