Anger over 'Plan B' response to storm-hit road

A coastal road which partly collapsed into the sea could be shut until 2027, a public meeting has heard.

About 200 people filled a parish hall to discuss the future of the A379 Slapton Line near Torcross, Devon, after parts of it broke apart in severe weather on Monday.

Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, told residents no decision about the road's future would be made in the short-term and she predicted the road would be shut for "at least" a year.

Devon County Council leader Julian Brazil queried whether "tens of millions" should be spent on repairs only for the road to be washed away again - which drew anger from one resident who accused him of "reverting to Plan B".

The South Devon MP said she would be asking ministers for money from the £1bn Structure Fund, which was announced last year and aimed to "future-proof England's road network".

But she warned the meeting: "This is not a part of the country crucial to the Labour Party."

Voadensaid she would take "people's voices" to Westminster, reassuring the community she was working as hard as she could.

"I'm absolutely going to go out and bat for this community and try and get as much money out of government as I can, but I don't know what the long-term solution is going to be," she said.

Brazil, who previously admitted the council did not have the funds for repairs, said: "We have to be realistic [when asking for government funds] because there is just not enough of us."

The government said it knew road damage was a "big shock" to people in Devon and it would work with the county council while the authority decided what to do next.

Some residents expressed anger about long diversions in place while the road was shut.

Steve Kilpatrick, from Torcross, said it was a "very difficult situation" for residents who now had to navigate "dreadful" back roads.

"If you have a heart attack in Torcross, now I fear you are going to die because the ambulance can't get through the lanes," he said.

"If you catch fire, you're in trouble. It's really serious."

Patrick Meaney, also from Torcross, said he "wasn't very impressed" the council leader had not committed to repairing the road.

"They seem to immediately want to revert to Plan B, which is to ignore the fact that we and the area desperately needs that road to be reinstated and to have a much stronger and better defence system," he said.

"They are just ignoring the fact [Slapton] Ley could be overwhelmed and disappear."

Street Parish Council chairman Ralph Clark said: "For goodness sake, get something sorted.

"Nothing ever happens."

Torcross resident Simon Garner said "it would be nice to save the road" but he added: "You're talking about £20m plus... is it feasible, or not? I'm not so sure it is."

Voaden said far more people attended the meeting than expected, including dozens of people outside who were unable to get into the room.

She said: "The strength of feeling is very clear and it will make it even easier to make a case to the government about how important this is."

She also said some people were in "much more of a crisis than others".

"We heard very powerfully from them in the meeting... the community needs to understand they might be getting annoyed about getting stuck in a lay-by in the mud while driving on the back lanes but actually other people have lost their homes, or at risk of losing their homes," Voaden said.

Talking about the future, she did not know how long it would take to repair it and even if money was found immediately, the layers of planning and preparation to rebuild the road would "take time".

Voaden said: "I think we need to face the reality of whatever the long-term solution is, it's going to take a long time.

"The community is going to have to adjust and adapt in the meantime."

The council urged people to stay away from the road as work continues to shore up the remaining sections.

Huge swells caused a 200m (656ft) section of the road to collapse and part of a car park to cave in.

Dan Thomas, cabinet member for highways at the county council, said further sections may have been undercut by the sea.

"It's simply not safe for people to be near the site where our teams are working," he said.

The road, between a freshwater lake on one side and the sea on the other, forms part of a key route connecting Torcross with Dartmouth.

During World War Two, the area was used by US forces rehearsing for the D-Day landings.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.