Devon County Council collates and manages a range of environmental data and combines this with data from a number of external sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of environmental quality and performance across Devon. Most of the data is published online to enable widespread use.
This data is used to support the Authority’s functions, better inform decision making (for example in relation to infrastructure proposals and land management activities) and target activity with our partners to ensure an outstanding and resilient environment.
State of Environment
How’s Devon’s environment doing? How is land use and landscape changing? What’s happening to wildlife habitats? How about our air, water and soils? And what difference will a growing population and climate change make?
These are among the big questions addressed in the State of the Environment report for Devon and Torbay, compiled by Devon County Council’s Environment Group. As its title suggests, the report describes the current condition of our environment, and considers trends and pressures.
It is used by the Authority and its partners in strategic-level environmental and sustainability assessments of plans and strategies; developing the Devon Health and Wellbeing Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (which guides the planning of health, wellbeing and social care services); as an educational resource; and is critical in shaping the work of Natural Devon.
Environmental Maps
Information on Devon’s environment has been mapped on our Environment Viewer. These maps give access to spatial (geographic) data for Devon on a wide range of topics in one accessible, online location. Data can be overlaid at various scales to build up a picture of environmental assets, quality and issues in a particular location so that, for example, designers of infrastructure projects are able to access all of the environmental information they need to meet legal requirements and help deliver local environmental objectives.
DCC Environmental Performance
Information about the environmental performance of Devon County Council is reported in the annual Environmental Performance Statement, available from our Environmental Policy page. This information is used to monitor the Authority’s progress at delivering its Environmental Policy and to set future priorities for action.