Case study:Lower Otter Restoration Project
Project overview
| Status | Complete |
|---|---|
| Project web site | http://www.lowerotterrestorationproject.co.uk |
| Themes | Estuary, Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity |
| Country | England |
| Main contact forename | Lydia |
| Main contact surname | Burgess Gamble |
| Main contact user ID | |
| Contact organisation | Environment Agency |
| Contact organisation web site | http://clintondevon.com |
| Partner organisations | Clinton Devon Estates, European Regional Development Fund |
| Parent multi-site project | |
| This is a parent project encompassing the following projects |
No |
Project summary
River Otter estuary at Budleigh Salterton, Devon.
The Lower Otter Restoration Project (LORP) in Budleigh Salterton, East Devon, is a flagship intertidal habitat restoration, climate adaptation, and infrastructure improvement project delivered by the Environment Agency in partnership with the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust and Clinton Devon Estates.
LORP has been majority funded by the UK government, with £8.5 million of co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V A France (Channel) England programme (2021 to 2023). It is the English arm of a cross-border initiative called ‘Promoting Adaptation to Changing Coasts’ (PACCo) and is delivering pre-emptive climate change adaptation in the Otter Valley by working with nature to provide benefits for people and the environment.
As part of the initiative, work is also going ahead on a similar project (Basse Saâne 2050) in the Saâne Valley in Normandy, France. Left unchanged, both valleys’ landscapes would not be sustainable in the face of climate change after centuries of human modification.
The aim of LORP is to demonstrate that it is possible to collaborate with stakeholders in estuarine regions and work with nature, rather than against it, to improve the resilience of coastal communities and their environments.
It is achieving this by increasing flood resilience through greatly improved infrastructure, reversing biodiversity loss (record-breaking levels of wading birds have already been seen regularly in the area since wetland development began), undoing the negative impacts of man-made modifications and restoring significant habitat loss, increasing carbon capture, and building awareness of climate adaptation and nature-based solutions through a range of educational resources and visits. LORP’s unique approach and methodology has also been shared through the publication of the PACCo Guide – a comprehensive framework for nature-based adaptation and management.
The project began in spring 2021 and was completed in early autumn 2023. The works include a 70-meter breach in embankments to reconnect the Otter Estuary to its historic floodplain; restoring 55ha of wetland habitat; the construction of a 30-meter span flood-resilient, raised road and road bridge, as well as a new footbridge over the location of the future breach to ensure continuity of the South West Coast Path; the relocation of Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club away from the floodplain; raising and improving public footpaths, and creating wildlife viewing areas.
To find out more about the Lower Otter Restoration Project, visit: www.lowerotterrestorationproject.co.uk
For more information on the PACCo initiative, visit: www.pacco-interreg.com
The essential work elements of the Scheme at a glance: Habitat creation 28ha of mudflats and 27ha of transitional marsh and saltmarsh Facilitating works
- Relocate Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club
- Create a 70m wide breach through the estuary flood embankment near Lime Kiln car park.
- Construct a new 70m span footbridge over the breach to ensure continuity of public access along the embankment;
- Create a new main creek channel 2km in length and associated outer creek channels
- Divert the existing hard-engineered SWW combined sewage outlet behind the shingle bar underground under the estuary mouth;
- Raise South Farm Road to protect the highway from regular flooding. This includes a new 30m span highway bridge over the new creek channel;
- Remove a small section of the existing landfill site to allow construction of the new South Farm Road highway bridge. The remaining areas of the landfill site will receive additional fill to provide furthering protection of the existing material within with the outer edges receiving improved erosion protection;
- Demolish and remove the existing Budleigh Brook concrete aqueduct and create a realigned more natural meandering channel connected to the floodplain through Little Marsh;
- Create a 200m wide breach in Little Bank and a 170m breach in Big Bank to improve water flow across the floodplain;
- Install seven new viewing areas at various locations across the scheme to enrich visitor experience of the enhanced wildlife reserve resulting from the Scheme;
- Create a new car park area at the south-western end of the new South Farm Road, removing informal parking in the existing SSSI which is damaging to the site;
- Raise the existing footpath section between South Farm Road and Big Bank, on the western side of the floodplain, and improve the surfacing.
- Divert the existing overhead power lines, which run west to east across the landfill site, underground;
Monitoring surveys and results
The Lower Otter Restoration Project is returning the Lower Otter Valley and Otter Estuary to a more natural state and function by harnessing nature-based solutions. Without pre-emptive adaptation, the valley would not be sustainable in the face of climate change, the effects of which are already being felt. These impacts are further exacerbated by man-made modifications for commercial and agricultural purposes that have been implemented over the last 200 years.
The main components of LORP are the reconnection of the River Otter and the reintroduction of wetland habitat. This habitat acts as a natural filter for pollutants, traps carbon, and increases biodiversity by providing important feeding and breeding grounds for a variety of species of wading birds, fish and invertebrates. By strategically breaching embankments, including a final 70-meter breach, and creating a new network of natural channels, the tide will flow back into its historic floodplain, providing a multitude of benefits, including the above.
Through these natural solutions, LORP demonstrates that it is possible to adapt to the challenges of climate change, reverse significant habitat and biodiversity loss, and improve degraded systems by working alongside nature, rather than against it.
The project is not only improving the ecological health of the Otter Valley and Estuary, but also providing important socio-economic benefits for local communities, such as improved flood resilience and infrastructure, and enhanced wellbeing, health, and recreational activities.
This makes LORP a shining example of how natural processes can be harnessed to provide multiple benefits to wildlife, the environment, and people. By working with nature, the project is helping to create a more resilient, sustainable, and brighter future for the Otter Valley, its estuary, and surrounding communities.
- Restoration has led to a new National Nature Reserve in the ‘King’s Series’: an extension of the Pebblebed Heaths NNR to include the Lower Otter Restoration Project area – a managed realignment scheme delivered by the EA with a budget input of approx. £30 million.
- The new NNR will be further extended by the new Round 2 Landscape Recovery ‘Heaths to Sea’ project under ELMS. It will connect the Pebblebed Heaths with the Otter estuary over 4000ha, and restore 175ha of wetland, 18km of river and create 96ha of riparian woodland.
Lessons learnt
Catchment and subcatchment
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Catchment
| River basin district | South West |
|---|---|
| River basin | East Devon |
Subcatchment
| River name | River Otter |
|---|---|
| Area category | 100 - 1000 km² |
| Area (km2) | |
| Maximum altitude category | 200 - 500 m |
| Maximum altitude (m) | 267267 m <br />0.267 km <br />26,700 cm <br /> |
| Dominant geology | Calcareous |
| Ecoregion | Great Britain |
| Dominant land cover | Arable and Horticulture |
| Waterbody ID | GB108045009170 |
Project background
| Reach length directly affected (m) | 1800018,000 m <br />18 km <br />1,800,000 cm <br /> |
|---|---|
| Project started | 2021-01-01 |
| Works started | |
| Works completed | 2023-10-01 |
| Project completed | |
| Total cost category | |
| Total cost (k€) | 30003,000 k€ <br />3,000,000 € <br /> |
| Benefit to cost ratio | |
| Funding sources | Environment Agency, European Regional Development Fund |
Cost for project phases
| Phase | cost category | cost exact (k€) | Lead organisation | Contact forename | Contact surname |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Stakeholder engagement and communication | |||||
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| Post-project management and maintenance | |||||
| Monitoring |
Supplementary funding information
a managed realignment scheme delivered by the EA with a budget input of approx. £30 million £8.5 million of co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg V A France (Channel) England programme (2021 to 2023)
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