Torcross Seafront Works – Latest Update from the EA
The Environment Agency team responsible for the works at Torcross has issued a 5 August progress update, which we reprint in full below:
PROJECT UPDATE
This is a short update on key developments since our previous Update (12 June 2026) and the Public Drop-In Event (30 June).
The EA posters from the Drop-In Event remain publicly available on the Slapton Line Partnership website: Community – Slapton Line Partnership
What’s the latest on Consents and Permissions ?
Both the Local Planning Authority (South Hams District Council) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) responded to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening that we had submitted to them in May.
Both organisations have confirmed that a statutory EIA is not needed. This decision has removed a key area of uncertainty and potential delay for the project.
There are two other key consequences from this:
1. 2. The Environment Agency can deliver the project using our statutory powers of permitted development, and we therefore do not need to apply for planning permission.
The primary consent needed is therefore a Marine Licence from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). We submitted this application along with supporting environmental reports in mid-July, and it is now with the MMO for consideration.
The 13-week consultation period means that we anticipate a response on 16th October. We cannot pre-judge the MMO decision, but we have worked very hard behind the scenes to optimise the chances of the Licence being granted, and to avoid pre-commencement conditions that might delay starting the works.
Assuming the Licence is granted, when are we going to start ?
Our contractor Kier will start mobilising and take possession of the Tank car park from the 7th September, following which it will not be accessible to the public. The public footpath will be maintained around the back of the compound area.
Kier have ordered the main rock from quarries in Norway, Ireland and Scotland and scheduled the first ‘rock drop’ on the beach from the 17th October. The construction of the rock armour will begin from around this date. The main rock will be brought to shore from the barges at high tides and retrieved at low tides. The rock defence will then be built in short sections within the low tide windows starting at the southern end, working along the beach towards the northern end slipway.
We anticipate it will take approximately 4-5 months to complete the main rock armour, so we will be working over the autumn and winter months, with the area around the car park and slipway then being completed in the spring.
Are you able to maintain public access at the south end ?
We are currently looking at ways to maintain public access to the existing defence and sea at the southern end, but constructing a sustainable access route down through the rock armour to the sea is proving to be difficult.
We cannot delay the start of the rock armouring works at the southern end, and therefore potential solutions have to take this into consideration, as well as the limited construction access that will then be possible.
We have taken on board various ideas from the community and appreciate how important access here is, and we are still discussing what can be achieved here with our contractors and designers. We will update the community on this as soon as we are able.
At the northern end, we are still proposing to extend the slipway to improve access at lower beach levels, and we view this as being the primary beach access route in the future. We have also agreed with Devon County Council and South Hams District Council to incorporate the reinstatement of the sheet-piled defences in front of the car park into the project and continue to work closely with them.
Keeping the community updated during construction
Once construction starts we are keen to keep the community updated on a regular basis with the details of imminent activities and overall progress, and also to enable residents to ask questions etc. We are currently working with Kier to develop our construction-stage engagement plans and will share the details in due course.