North Devon Catchment Partnership

Catchment partnership vision

Our health and quality of life depends upon the natural environment. As a UNESCO Biosphere, the natural capital in North Devon is recognised internationally. However this has been degraded through unsustainable land use practices, physical modifications and pollution. Climate change is making restoration even more challenging. We believe that the North Devon community and its public, private and charitable organisations, must work together in order to achieve Good Ecological Status in our rivers, estuaries and coastal waterbodies. Our catchment Partnership will be instrumental in bringing people together to deliver the river basin management plan objectives in this special place by 2026. As the home of the 25 Year Environment Plan's Landscape and Marine Pioneer projects our Natural Capital plans will be used in achieving sustainable economic growth through a more healthy and resilient natural environment.

Related websites

Find out more about the activities and ambitions of this catchment partnership and how you can get involved to help improve the water environment in the catchment.

Catchment challenges

Current challenges identified by partnership

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Chronic diffuse pollution (phosphate and sediment) from farming / non-compliance with regulations

  • Pollution from waste water

    Pollution from waste water remains a serious issue for many of our water bodies

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Himalayan Balsam is an issue on many of the water bodies

Wider water environment challenges identified by partnership

  • Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy

    Devon's Nature Recovery Network Map highlights the best opportunities for restoration and enhancement of our river catchments

  • Reduce storm overflows and drainage system incidents

    River pollution continues to be a significant concern to the users of our waterbodies

  • Nature Recovery, designated areas for nature and biodiversity

    Tourists, residents and communities recognise the importance of the outstanding natural environment of our rivers for our economy

  • Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change

    North Devon's wet grasslands hold water reducing floods & releasing slowly in droughts helping farmers & water company access steady water supplies

  • Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance

    Water quality is impacted by good soil and nutrient management

  • Improved bathing waters (including inland)

    North Devon beaches are world class and good water quality is essential

Future challenges predicted by partnership

  • Pollution from agriculture and rural areas

    Agriculture is an important business sector in North Devon, future climate change events will present a greater challenge to land management pressures on the water environment

  • Changes to the natural flow and water levels

    Climate Change is predicted to greatly reduce some seasonal low flows, further impacting existing water resource pressures and their dependent habitats

  • Invasive Non-native Species

    Increased global temperatures are predicted to increase the threat of invasive species displacing native, iconic and protected species

Future challenges predicted by Environment Agency

Future challenges in 2050

  • Invasive Non-native Species
  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Physical Modifications

Emerging challenges

  • Changes to the Natural Flow and Water Levels
  • Physical Modifications
  • Pollution from waste water

Partnership success highlights 2016 to 2021

The North Devon Catchment Partnership played a key role in delivering 2 of the 4 national 25 Year Environment Plan Pioneer projects, where our Natural Capital Strategies, and innovative financial mechanisms have attracted significant investment in the environment. This will be further harnessed to accelerate sustainable economic recovery capitalising on our great collective experience in nature based solutions for water quality and flood risk. Successful projects delivered over many of North Devon waterbodies include;

  • Taw Torridge Estuary Project
  • Kenwith Valley and the Combe Martin BIRD Forest Projects
  • Culm Grassland Natural Flood Risk Management project has restored over 400ha of wet grassland and creating 95ha
  • Woods4Water project created hundreds of hectares of woodland
  • South West Water's Upstream Thinking programme has brought significant benefits in the Barnstaple Yeo catchment
  • Freshwater Pearl Mussel captive breeding & species protection project delivered 13km of riverbank & 4 key populations protected with 2 successful rounds of captive breeding of mussels
  • Focus Area project offers small grants, advice & guidance to farmers & significantly decreased agricultural pollution in the estuary basin
  • Taw, Torridge and Braunton Facilitation groups have created local active networks of farm businesses sharing skills and knowledge
  • Torridge River Restoration Project visited over 400 landowners, planted 3,650 trees, protected 20 miles of riverbank from livestock access & cleared 5 miles of riverbank from Himalyan Balsam
  • CSI & Riverfly continue to engage communities in citizen science

Partnership development plans

Work to achieve good ecological status across the catchment, improve habitats and remove barriers through partnership within the North Devon Biosphere. Increase Catchment Partnership constituency. Develop ambitious projects to contribute to water body restoration. Review current monitoring and work towards a collaborative monitoring approach to include volunteer monitoring schemes such as Riverfly and Westcountry CSI. Connect to flood risk planning, BR Natural Capital Strategy and Nature Plan.

Partnership priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027

  • Confident

    Enhancement/no deterioration measures in 2020-2025 Water Industry National Environment Programme

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage point source discharges
    Delivery mechanism
    Confirmed water industry national environment programme 2020-2025
    Location
    North Devon

  • Confident

    Provide a range of nature based solutions to address flood and pollution pressures in the most impacted water bodies

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    North Devon

  • Confident

    Review and supplement statutory monitoring effort to address catchment priorities using innovative technology

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    North Devon

  • Confident

    Achieve sustainable management of Taw-Torridge estuary natural assets to deliver coastal NFM and inter-tidal habitats

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Marine Habitat Restoration/Fisheries Fund
    Location
    TAW / TORRIDGE

  • Confident

    Promote woodland creation (tree planting / natural regeneration) on appropriate land - Woods 4 Water project

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Location
    North Devon

  • Confident

    Continue quality one to one advice and peer to peer groups with farmers to reduce soils, water and flooding issues

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    North Devon

  • Less certain

    Investigate and promote actions to enhance climate resilience for communities and the waterbodies

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage regulated flows
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Small water bodies identified where changes will have significant impact and the actions maintained
    Location
    North Devon

  • Less certain

    Enhance key freshwater biodiversity, including freshwater pearl mussel, water vole, beaver reintroductions

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding to achieve species-specific actions to be identified through innovative means
    Location
    North Devon

  • Less certain

    Expand Westcountry CSI volunteer monitoring scheme to include all water bodies in the North Devon management catchment

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding to develop and support volunteer networks and sensor deployment, linked to a core data base
    Location
    North Devon

  • Less certain

    Improve bathing water results at marginal beaches through land interventions and infrastructure investment

    Reason for measure
    Control or manage rural diffuse pollution
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Measures clearly identified and proven and then put in place with the right natural capital funding
    Location
    North Devon

  • Less certain

    Removal of barriers to fish migration and regeneration of the population of salmon in the Taw and Torridge Rivers

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    WEIF Water Environment Improvement Fund
    Barriers to delivery
    Funding for in-channel river improvements with consents in place
    Location
    North Devon

  • Less certain

    Increase the area of coastal grazing marsh natural capital to compensate expected loss due to sea level rise

    Reason for measure
    Manage modified habitats
    Delivery mechanism
    None identified
    Barriers to delivery
    A strategy and funding in place for the habitat change that brings other benefits to pay for it
    Location
    Barnstaple Bay TAW / TORRIDGE

  • Wider water environment

    Restore and re-naturalise watercourses, developing mosaics of habitat, robust buffer zones and wetland areas

    Reason for measure
    Support Nature Recovery Network and Local Nature Recovery Strategy
    Delivery mechanism
    Other local funding
    Location
    North Devon

  • Wider water environment

    Restore blanket bog, improve habitat connectivity, restore river corridors and encourage re-naturalisation and re-wilding

    Reason for measure
    Build environmental resilience and adaptation to climate change
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Location
    North Devon

  • Wider water environment

    Support landowners by sharing best practice, skills & knowledge and increase awareness of pollution and statutory framework for protecting rivers

    Reason for measure
    Protect and restore healthy soils and nutrient balance
    Delivery mechanism
    Environment Land Management Scheme (future full-scale roll-out)
    Location
    North Devon

Catchment Partnership contributors

Partners involved in the creation of this page and the actions of the partnership: