East Devon environment budget cut by £50k as demands get tougher

Cash for an organisation that helps the environment in East Devon has been slashed by £50,000, just as government targets become more demanding.

East Devon National Landscape (EDNL), which oversees environmental initiatives in the district, will have £686,000 in the next 12 months, down seven per cent on last year.
EDNL supports environmental schemes, including tree planting, making the outdoors more accessible, and supporting farmers, all of which are aimed at protecting and promoting biodiversity and helping to hit net zero targets.
Dan Wynn, the manager of EDNL, told East Devon District Council’s overview committee that the council had been the host organisation for the national landscape – previously known as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or AONB – since 2002.
“There has been a policy change from government to strengthen the duty we have,” he said, continuing:  “This means there is a change in expectations of what protected landscapes need to deliver.”
He said the National Landscape sits wholly in East Devon District Council’s boundary and that it shared its responsibilities with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Devon County Council.
He added that EDNL has to create nearly 2.7 hectares of new habitat by 2042 outside existing protected sites, as well as increasing tree canopy cover by 807 hectares in the next 25 years.
This year’s funding had supported around 62 projects, including community-led schemes, such as planting hedgerows at Sidmouth arboretum, a woodland  management initiative in Axmouth, and a water quality group in Lympstone.
It also paid for beach matting, which makes it possible for wheelchairs to go onto beaches, while improvement works had been carried out at Exmouth’s nature reserve.
Some councillors who also sit on the planning committee noted the competing demands of expanding the National Landscape at a time when pressure is rising to build more homes. Almost 1,000 new properties a year are likely to be needed in East Devon.
Cllr Roy Collins (Independent, Honiton) said some recent decisions to identify sites for housing had been partly in or extremely close to National Landscape land.
Cllr Brian Bailey (Conservative, Exmouth Littleham) added that the government’s planning policy seemed to be less in favour of protecting designated land.
“It seems to be going the other way and we have numerous planning applications where under the previous rules, we knew where we were, but now it is National Landscapes, you can build on them, and that’s encouraged by the government,” he said.
Mr Wynn acknowledged the issue.
A public consultation about EDNL’s plan for 2025 to 2030 runs until Friday 18 April.
The EDNL encompasses councils, government departments, and charities and voluntary organisations, including the Devon Wildlife Trust, Jurassic Coast Trust, National Farmers’ Union and Natural England.