Attendees
| Mark Rice Emily Reed Sara Gibbs Jess Pryer Alex Rainbow George Arnison Louise Sawyer Richard Sweatman Rhys Hobbs Paul Minshull Harriet Googe Claire Below | Environment Agency (Chair) Devon Climate Emergency Public Health Devon Met Office Cornwall Council Environment Agency Devon and Cornwall Police Devon and Cornwall Police  Cornwall Council Cornwall Council Environment Agency Cornwall Council |
Apologies
| Doug Eltham Laurence Couldrick Paul Lunt Richard Saville Nick Paling Carolyn Cadman Maria Van Hove Jacqui Warren Ruth Rockley Stacy Griffiths Anya Gopfert James Cooper James Kershaw Tom Dauben Donna Sibley Emmanuelle Marshall Ed Mellor Lesley Newport Stephen Swabey Zoe Sydenham Victoria Hatfield | Devon County Council (Natural Environment) Westcountry Rivers Trust University of Plymouth Cornwall Council South West Water South West Water Public Health, Exeter University and Torbay Council Torbay Council Cornwall Council Wales & West Utilities  Environment Agency / Torbay Council Environment Agency Devon County Council Environment Agency Torridge District and North Devon Councils Plymouth City Council DCIoS Local Resilience Forum Environment Agency Council of the Isles of Scilly Plymouth City Council Exeter City Council |
1. Minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record.
All matters arising are scheduled for discussion on the main agenda.
2. Climate Adaptation Strategy Consultation reportÂ
Emily summarised the report on the Climate Adaptation Strategy consultation which had been circulated to the group on the 17th of August. The group was reminded to seek feedback from their organisations on the proposed amendments to the Strategy contained in the report, which respond to the feedback gained through the consultation.
ACTION: All to share any comments on the proposed amendments with Emily by email before the meeting on the 30th of September or bring comments to the meeting.
Sara Gibbs asked if there were further ways that young people could be engaged before the strategy is finalised given the low levels of responses from this age group to the consultation.
ACTION: Emily to reach out to the Devon Youth Parliament to get their feedback on the strategy.
3. Funding opportunities for adaptationÂ
It was noted that the funding landscape in the next year or so may be influenced by the run up to the next general election.
Paul and George commented that funding deadlines are often very tight and require oven ready projects in preparation for funding opportunities. However, it is challenging to get capacity to develop projects without knowing where the funding will come from.
Mark Rice shared that the Environment Agency are keen to support project development.
Rhys Hobbs highlighted the importance of cost benefit analysis in order to underscore the business case for taking action, given the potential cost of inaction to prepare for climate impacts. Even if this only achieves increased revenue funding for maintenance it is of benefit. For instance, the recent increase in wildfires will have implications for increased staff hours, wear and tear of equipment etc. and the associated costs.
Paul Minshull argued that we are going to have to move towards blended finance models, pulling in layered funding for projects which reflects the multiple benefits which will be delivered e.g. water quality, flood resilience etc. This might work best in the context of place-based solutions.
George Arnison raised concerns that the actions in the strategy still need to be focused further and each action needs ownership by one organisation. This will help to give ownership to the drive to secure funding. Emily responded that the plan is very strategic and high level and therefore will need more detailed work to draw out the local implications but agreed that the next step was to get greater ownership of actions by stakeholders.
Paul Minshull suggested that communities were best placed to take ownership of many projects because can be very motivated to act locally.
It was AGREED that we ought to develop an implementation plan for the Climate Adaptation Strategy, which would include funding and how communities are supported to act.
ACTION: Emily Reed and Mark Rice to meet to discuss the implementation plan.
Emily shared the following funding opportunities. Some are less specifically about climate change, but could potentially be used to increase resilience to climate impacts:
- https://treecouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/planting-and-care/our-grants/branching-out/
- International Tree Foundation Accepting Applications for Tree Planting Projects Across UK – GrantFinder
- Royal Countryside Fund – Devon Funding News
- Farming in Protected Landscapes – Devon Funding News
- Net Zero Living: User Focused Design – Devon Funding News
- Adult Social Care Technology Fund – Devon Funding News
- Devon Emergency Resilience Fund – Devon Funding News
4. AOBÂ Â
Emily shared details of two publications which might be of interest to the group:
 Sara Gibbs highlighted upcoming events on adaptation being held by the University of Exeter’s Green Futures Network Adaptation Community of Practice. Sara and Emily will attend the meetings and feed back to the group.Â
Sara Gibbs also reported that the UK Health Security Unit are also developing some useful resources on climate change.
