The Forum was founded in 1980 under the auspices of North Devon and Torridge District Councils, with Captain Jimmy Johnson as Chairman. He was followed by Rose Day and later Tony Pratt, the current chair. Its role is to act as an independent voice for the whole of the Taw Torridge Estuary system. It is primarily a body that is concerned with the conservation of the Estuaries for nature and recreational/work activities.
The Forum is a non party political body and is comprised of many organisations. Its members are made up of District, Town and Parish Councils bordering the estuaries, recreational and sporting clubs and organisations which use the estuaries. Also represented are national official bodies that have responsibilities for nature and the landscape management. In addition other bodies are represented all of which have an interest in the wellbeing of the estuaries and which influence the day to day life of the estuary complex.
Member organisations appoint a delegate/delegates to represent their interests at the quarterly main meetings of the Forum and the delegates are expected to report back to their parent organisations on a regular basis. The meetings are open to the members of the public and minutes, reports and information items, including local events, are all available via the website.
Currently the Forum is not charging a fee for membership but reserves the right to do so in the future if necessary.
Day to day matters are dealt with by the Planning and Consultation Committee which meets approximately every five to six weeks.
Member organisations may contribute to the news/events section of the website using the Contact Form or contacting the webmaster directly.
More information concerning the role of the Forum may be found on the About Us | Role page.
To encourage youth involvement in the care of the estuaries the Forum has established a yearly grant fund of £500.00. Youth organisations wishing to have some financial help with projects involving the care of the estuaries can apply for a grant using the Applicaton Form. Successful applicants will, as a condition of being made a grant, be expected to make a full report of the activity when it is finished.
The Forum is also a sustainable organisation and all waste generated by the committee and from the main public meetings is recycled including composting of food waste from the meetings.