Ref: CSFF120004
Leads: Ruth Testa (rtesta@devonwildlifetrust.org) and Mike Symes (msymes@devonwildlifetrust.org).
Group members: 32
Length of agreement: 5
Area of group (Hectares): 3900
Exmoor’s Countryside Stewardship priorities statement cites a wide range of landscapes. Braunton and the Caen Valley contain many of the priority features identified, and are specifically mentioned multiple times.
Exmoor priority habitats benefiting from Braunton Facilitation Group project: – purple moor grass and rush pasture; – lowland dry acid grassland; – lowland meadow; traditional orchards; – maritime cliff and slope; – coastal and floodplain grazing marsh; coastal sand dune; – ancient and native woodlands; – riparian habitats associated with priority rivers and lakes; arable field margins
Exmoor priority species benefiting from Braunton Facilitation Group project: – turtle dove; – willow tit; – greater horseshoe bat; lesser horseshoe bat; pennyroyal
Flood / Coastal Risk Management priority areas benefiting from Braunton Facilitation Group project: upper reaches of River Caen; minor watercourses east and west of Braunton; Croyde stream catchment and small watercourses south of Croyde village; tidal floodplain – River Taw and tributaries.
Opportunities to achieve specified multiple environmental benefits in Facilitation Group area: establish low input arable / low-intensity grassland in Braunton area, protecting historic features and benefiting farmland birds, soils, water quality, landscape character, flood risk and biodiversity – restoring and reinforcing historic network of hedgerows above Braunton, decreasing soil erosion, creating wildlife habitats / corridors, strengthening local landscape character, and benefiting water quality and flood risk – selecting options such as hedge planting, buffer strips, grass strips and winter cover crops to reduce soil erosion and benefit water quality, flood risk and landscape character within River Caen catchment – enhancing existing intertidal coastal habitat and creating new coastal habitats close to Braunton, enhancing biodiversity and supporting flood / coastal risk management.
