Agenda item

The Habitat Regulations Delivery Manager provides a progress update on delivery of the 2016-17 Annual Business Plan.

The Executive Committee considered the Habitat Regulations Delivery Manager’s annual report updating on progress made in delivery of the mitigation measures set out in the 2016-17 Annual Business Plan.

The report highlighted the following progress:

·         The introduction of a Delivery Manager, Habitat Mitigation Officers, Project Officer (Devon Loves Dogs) and the review of Voluntary Exclusion Zones on the Exe Estuary.

·         Significant progress in the delivery of the Sustainable Alternative Natural Green Space (SANGS) Strategy. The Partnership had agreed prioritisation of sites, secured land for SANGS at Dawlish and delivery of SANGS South West of Exeter was also being progressed.

·         Following an investment of £2.9m, 26 hectares of newly accessible countryside in Dawlish was due to open to the public at the end of the summer.

·         A complete reassessment of the assumptions made by the Strategy had been undertaken.

·         A new Visitor Management Plan for the Pebblebed Heaths.

·         There had been a significant reappraisal of mitigation project costs, which had lead to new per dwelling contributions.

·         Sustained, meaningful and important progress had been achieved through local authorities and stakeholder organisations working together in partnership.

With the agreement of the Chairman, the Habitat Regulations Delivery Manager invited the Habitat Mitigation Officers, Project Officer and Exe Estuary Officer to give a brief update on their work:

Habitat Mitigation Officers

·         Through positive engagement, the Officers provided education to encourage responsible behaviour of visitors to the sites and nature reserves covered in the Mitigation Strategy. They had made over 1000 interactions with members of the public since the project had started 9 months ago.

·         The Officers attended a number of local events – these were a good way to engage with members of the public.

·         The Officers had met with other mitigation teams across the UK and would be arranging a Mitigation Officer meet up – this was good for networking and an opportunity to discuss best practices with other officers. An online forum was in the process of being set up, which Mitigation Officers would be able to use to share knowledge.

Project Officer (Devon Loves Dogs)

·         The Project Officer had worked with partners to develop the Devon Loves Dogs project and learnt from similar projects across the country. A brand had then been established.

·         The Project Officer had worked with partners to develop a Code for dog owners which could be used across the SANGS sites.

·         A website for the project was now live (although still be developed) and there had been a lot of interactions through social media. A top twenty dog walks leaflet was being produced to encourage members of the public away from protected sites.

·         The Project Officer had worked with the Green Spaces Team at Teignbridge District Council on the event to open the new SANGS in Dawlish.

·         The Project Officer had attended events, such as family festivals and guided walks, to promote the Code and engage with members of the public.

Exe Estuary Officer - The Exe Estuary Officer spoke of her work on the zone proposals on the Estuary.

·         Initial zone proposals covered critical locations which were important bird habitats – the proposals only covered 9% of the Estuary. A public consultation had been held at the end of last year through to the beginning of this year, with an online survey still ongoing. All consultation responses had been taken into consideration; however there was a need to balance wildlife interest with human interest. As a result of the consultation the exclusion zones, renamed Wildlife Refuges, had been reviewed and now covered 7.2% of the Estuary for 14 weeks of the year and 3.58% of the Estuary for the remainder of the year. The new proposals were considered to have a limited impact on users of the Estuary. A final report on the Wildlife Refuge proposal would be brought to the next Committee meeting in October. The Refuge areas would be clearly marked out.

·         Existing codes of conduct for water users were currently under review.

RESOLVED: that the progress made towards delivering the 2016-17 Annual Business Plan be noted.