Fixing collapsed road 'out of council price range'
BBCThe cost of repairing a scenic coastal road after parts of it collapsed into the sea is "way out of our price range", a council leader has said.
Julian Brazil, leader of Devon County Council, said the A379 Slapton Line was a "jewel in the crown" but the cost of fixing it could run into tens of millions of pounds and he questioned whether "nature had its way".
The route between Torcross and Slapton broke apart on Monday after storms brought huge swells.
Brazil said there was "absolutely no way" the council could fix the road alone but he added ministers might decide not to fund works due to the vulnerability of the link. However, a Torcross businesswoman called for "emergency funding now".
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.
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.
While residents are not completely cut off by the road collapse, it means a long diversion for people going to and from Dartmouth.
Engineers began work on the road at 07:00 GMT and a convoy of lorries has been dumping stones to help protect what is left of the road.
Properties in Torcross remain boarded up against the storms and not a glimmer of light could be seen coming from homes as daylight broke on Tuesday.
Speaking to BBC Radio Devon, Brazil said "there's absolutely no way" county and district councils could afford to fix the road on their own.
He said: "It's way out of our price range. We are dependent on government. Quite rightly, government may say, 'no, because we think it could be putting money against something we may lose again'.
"We could spend tens of millions - because that's how much it will cost to repair the road - and next year it could just be washed away again.
"We do need to start thinking, has nature had its way here?
"If [government] is not going to give us money to mend the road, we need money for that adaptation plan, for that transformation."
Torcross businesswoman Natalie Cordrey said it was "strange to hear" suggestions the road may not be fixed, saying alternative routes were difficult to travel along and could leave people feeling isolated.
She called for urgent funding to fix the A379 as back roads were "very narrow, very steep and in some places there is even grass growing in the middle of the road".
"There are very few passing places and, where there are, they are farm gates often knee-deep in mud," she said.
"A very short journey across that very beautiful, very vital A-road now becomes a very time consuming traffic jam where your heart rate is sky high."
Brazil said the road was "very much part of our history down here in the South Hams".
"People feel very upset," he said.
"From the council's point of view, we've got to find out what the local community needs in the short term."
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