Plans for a £20m Oceanic Centre in north Devon are to proceed to the second stage of a massive lottery funding bid. The centre would be sited on the waterfront of the UNESCO biosphere reserve, which covers more than 1,400 square miles from the Braunton Burrows to the Taw and Torridge estuary.

If successful, the centre’s main function will be research into the ocean and its impact on how we live.