⭐ PARTNER SPOTLIGHT ⭐ BUDE-STRATTON TOWN COUNCIL
It seems rather fitting to kickstart a new regular Partner Spotlight with a focus on our lead partner, Bude-Stratton Town Council, whose Storm Tower relocation project has begun in earnest, with the scaffolding up, the removal of the cross from the roof of the tower and the first spade in the ground at the new location.
It is a project which has been several years in the making, and, while it is of huge significance to the community in heritage terms, it also acts as a very visible reminder of the challenges coastal communities are facing with accelerating sea level rises and coastal erosion.
Alongside the actual relocation of the Tower, is a significant educational programme which, BSTC Projects Manager Francesca Churchill-Zerilli, said: “will include a lasting exhibition and a new Heritage Trail for the town which will also help raise awareness of the pressures we face due to coastal erosion and how climate change is contributing to it."
These projects will complement our own work, including most notably the Shoreline Engagement Project which is on track to create a citizen's jury later this year so that the community can help shape decisions made on the future of Bude's shoreline.
The Storm Tower's relocation also comes with a number of requirements from Natural England to protect the landscape.
Ecologist Rich Bates explained: "As a Site of Special Scientific Interest we have to be very careful, and you can see one citation plant – the Spring Squill – already coming up. Any grass, top soil and seed banks we are digging up on the new site will be relocated to patch other nearby areas, and we are aiming for no loss of habitat at all.”
We wish BSTC the best of luck as this project continues, and congratulations Team Town Council for getting to this point!
