Lower Hoopern Valley
Lower Hoopern Valley is a steeply sided, 38-acre plot of land to the south of Streatham campus. The space is currently maintained by the University of Exeter’s Grounds team and has been identified as an area of opportunity for enhanced biodiversity, community use and research activity. The valley currently has one public right of way that cuts across the northern section of the space from the North West to South East with limited access to the wider space comprising areas of woodland (mature and young), pasture, open grassland and Taddiforde Brook.
Since our first public engagement period in May 2023, we have taken the feedback received and drafted a design that would see us meet our overall objectives for the Lower Hoopern Valley, which received significant support:
- Enhance biodiversity and natural capital,
- Community engagement and education,
- Natural sciences research opportunities, and,
- Carbon sequestration and storage.
An overview of the proposals can be found here.
Please click on the links to view feedback from the May 2023 and November 2023 consultation events.
In response to the consultations, and to make the site more easily accessible, we carried out some infrastructure improvements in the Valley 2024, including adding surfacing to muddy ‘pinch points’, a new bridge over the existing culvert, and some lockable noticeboards.
We are working with the new Friends of Hoopern Valley Community Association and attended their recent AGM to provide an update on previous and future works – a report is available here: Lower Hoopern Valley AGM 2024
Our next steps are working with the Environment Agency, Exeter City Council and CREWW researchers to develop a nature-based flood management solution in the Taddiforde Brook. The plan is to ‘slow the flow’ of water through the Valley by installing ‘leaky woody spreaders’ (almost like a dam, but with gaps to allow fish and freshwater invertebrates through), creating ponds in the stream which hold back water but allow for flooding, and connecting the brook to the flood plain to create wet grassland habitat. We plan to remove some of the artificial structures that reduce how ‘connected’ the brook is for wildlife.
Many areas of the brook are much deeper than they should be due to fast flows during high rainfall. They are also very highly shaded which prevents aquatic plant growth. We plan to fell some trees on site to make the leaky woody dams, focusing on trees which have ash dieback so may need to removed anyway, or younger sycamores which have lower biodiversity value.
The works may be muddy and unsightly to begin with – but we are confident they will add many habitats for wildlife and help protect the downstream rivers from pollution. There are some photos of what interventions may look like in our Lower Hoopern Valley AGM 2024 update.
Please help our contractors keep themselves and you safe when they are on site by:
· Using alternative routes during construction.
· Following any safety signs and instructions given by contractors.
