Deviock Parish Council appeals for community support to protect woodland in Seaton, Cornwall

Please help save the woodland and wildlife by supporting the 5 day Crowdfunder campaign. Click on the link below to donate:
​www.crowdfunder.co.uk/seaton-land-auction-fund

Deviock Parish Council, supported by Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall Council, will be competing at auction on Thursday 04/11 to secure woodland adjacent to the Countryside Park at the mouth of the River Seaton on behalf of the public.

If successful, the land will be brought into public ownership and protected from inappropriate development for the benefit of both the local community and visitors alike.

Cornwall Wildlife Trust endorses this campaign and will work with the Parish Council on an appropriate and sustainable Habitat Management Plan for the land.

The two plots total 4.77 acres and are is being publicly auctioned by Stags on Thursday 4th November.

This land is subject to planning designations that include Tree Preservation Order Area, Area of Great Landscape Value and County Wildlife Site.

It is directly adjacent to Seaton Countryside Park and the Forestry Commission confirms the presence of numerous Priority Species including Protected Species such as Brown long-eared Daubenton’s bats, Dormouse, and Otter.

Despite the designations on these plots, it is possible that commercial concerns may seek to exploit them.

As well as its status as a wildlife woodland, this land also plays a role in flood mitigation, and we are concerned that any attempts to develop it may exasperate existing flood issues in the area and pose a threat to the quality of water entering the sea from the River Seaton.

It is our intention to enter this auction and to protect this land in the public interest.

We have allocated a budget from our land acquisition fund and we have reached out to partners including Cornwall Council and Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

However, as a result of the very short notice and significant interest, we are unlikely to succeed without community support and have launched this Crowdfunder campaign to allow the public to contribute.

Given the guideline prices (£45k and £35k) efforts will be initially focussed on a single plot, but bids will also be entered on the second plot if sufficient donations are received.