On the 22nd of September 2022, the Torbay and Devon Case Study held their Living Lab event in Torquay. The aim was to highlight and introduce key stakeholders to both the project and the specific case study. Stakeholders came from Exeter University, local councils, South West Water and Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and Torbay Community Development Trust amongst others. Dr Kate Baker from Exeter University and Dr Sarah Ward from Westcountry Rivers Trust led the group to collate an image of what the future of climate resilience meant.
The creation of the mental map helped to represent the main sectors and the challenges they face in Torbay, heading into an uncertain future for the climate. This map also showed the ways in which the sectors interconnect and can work together to build a more resilient future.
Flooding was identified as a key problem for Torbay and the participants looked at how infrastructure and organisations could learn from past flooding events in the area, as well as help communities to become more resilient; sea levels for the area are estimated to rise by over 1m in the next 100 years.
The case study team are now building up to the second of their Living Labs in Brixham on the 9 February 2023, when they will be guided to envision an innovative future for Torbay.