'No promises' washed away coastal road will reopen

There are "no promises" a scenic coastal road in Devon that washed away during stormy weather will be repaired, the local MP has said following talks with ministers.

Parts of the A379 between Torcross and Slapton were damaged when its sea defences failed during recent storms.

South Devon MP Caroline Voaden spoke at Prime Minister's Questions and then met ministers over how £10.5bn of funds to improve coastal and flood defences could be accessed.

She also said the Department for Transport was open to a submission by Devon County Council for the "repair and reopening" of the A379 "and/or" improvements to "the back roads", adding: "No promises were given but I will ask DCC to provide an estimate".

Voaden told BBC Radio Devon: "No decisions can be made until they had an idea of what that's going to look like financially."

She said parts of her meeting on Wednesday with Minister for Water and Flooding Emma Hardy and Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood were "positive".

Voaden also raised the possibility of an "ambitious coastal defence scheme", which could see the replacement of shingle into the bay and an offshore barrier to give the area "more stability in the long term and protect the shoreline from more storm damage".

She told the House of Commons on Wednesday about the "complexity of the situation".

In response, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "I know communities have been badly affected by recent storms and damage to the A379 is very concerning."

He said the government was investing to improve coastal and flood defences.

"I want to thank the Environment Agency (EA) staff for working hard right now putting extra protections in place and supporting people ahead of further wet weather," he said.

Resident and landlady of local business Start Bay Inn, Gale Stubbs, said she and her two children were born and raised in Torcross, so understood the importance of the A379.

She said her biggest concern was the homes along the seafront, adding they had to be the "priority".

Stubbs said the community was grateful for the ongoing work but desperately needed more sea defences in front of the village "quite urgently".

Voaden added the Environment Agency (EA) owned the sea wall and teams had been working "really hard" to try and do what they could "to make sure the houses are safe".

At the meeting, she said she had asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to give the EA funding to do more repair work and restoration in front of the houses "more quickly" than if they went through normal channels.

"The EA has a long list of jobs that are on their list to do and, when something like this happens, there can't be something that goes to the top of the queue," she said.

"I have been contacted by the head of the EA who is happy to meet with me."

Voaden added: "It feels to me everybody is being as proactive as they can be."

A Defra spokesperson has previously said: "We're committed to supporting coastal communities, including in the South West, through our record investment of £10.5bn in protecting against flooding and coastal erosion by 2036, benefitting nearly 900,000 properties."

It also has said that it inherited flood defences in the worst condition on record and had reprioritised more than £100m into urgent maintenance works across the UK.

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