The Deben Estuary Partnership (DEP) was formed in 2008 to provide a participatory network of stakeholders and the estuary community with a vision to protect the future of the estuary. A key objective of the group then, as is the case now, was to:
‘safeguard the Deben estuary from degradation by creating management partnerships of all the interested parties, particularly local communities, working together so that future generations may continue to benefit‘
The partnership brings together representation from key stakeholders such as Suffolk Coasts and Heaths AONB, the Environment Agency, Natural England, East Suffolk Council, in addition to local special interest groups (e.g. Waldringfield Wildlife Group, River Deben Association), residents and landowners.
The DEP published the first Deben Estuary Plan in April 2015, to primarily consider the issue of flood risk management, but to also provide an integrated approach to the management of the broader estuary valley and coastal zone.
We are now in the process of developing a revised and updated Deben Estuary Plan, which will focus on ‘Change – climate, community and culture’