February draft minutes published
Draft minutes of February’s Full Council meeting are now published and available here.
Storms and Shifting Sands – assessing the ocean’s impact on Start Bay
This excellent piece from the University of Plymouth’s Coastal Processes Research Group details the latest thinking on the impact of coastal erosion on Start Bay.
Chat with a Cop in Torcross, Monday 23rd February
Your local Neighbourhood Policing Team for Kingsbridge, Salcombe and the surrounding area will be at The Start Bay Inn, Torcross, at 11:30 am on Monday 23rd February. Please come along and take this opportunity to raise any concerns you may have and to find out what we are doing to tackle the issues that matter to you.
Everyone is welcome and it would be great to see you there. For more information please contact me – PCSO Tom – via this Community Messaging or via the front office in Kingsbridge.
If there are any other people you would like to invite to the Community Messaging, please advise them on how to join using this link to the website: https://community-messaging.dc.police.uk
Full Council agenda now published
The agenda for next Thursday’s full council meeting is now published and available on the website.
Introducing the Slapton Line Partnership
Many Start Bay residents will be aware of an organisation called the Slapton Line Partnership. Others, who perhaps haven’t been in the area for so long, might not have heard of it. So as part of our continuing efforts to provide readers with the background to help them understand where we find ourselves, and how we got here, this 5-minute primer will explain who and what the SLP is and what it does.
The Slapton Line Partnership was formed in 2001 to:
- Promote a co-ordinated policy for managing coastal change in and around Slapton Sands;
- Ensure that appropriate contingency plans and preparations are maintained for responding to erosion events;
- Promote a range of adaptation activities and projects in anticipation of future change;
- Ensure that suitable expertise, research and intelligence is available to inform decision making;
- Promote public awareness and community engagement in the coastal management and adaptation process;
- Assist the member organisations in meeting their statutory duties in the management of the area.
The Partnership is made up of staff and officers from Devon County Council, South Hams District Council, South Devon National Landscapes Unit, Field Studies Council, Wild Planet Trust, Natural England, and the Environment Agency, together with elected representatives from Devon County, South Hams, and the three parish councils that surround Start Bay: Strete, Slapton, and Stokenham.
The most recent coastal management strategy for the Slapton Line was adopted on 3rd November, 2023. The Partnership meets throughout the year to develop the strategy and the associated adaptation planning.
Helmers Bridge works to start 18 February
Parishioners will be pleased to learn that works to repair the pedestrian footway and bridge from Helmers Estate to the Park and Chillington Village Hall, delayed for weeks because of bad weather, will commence on 18 February (weather permitting!) We anticipate that the work should take no longer than a week to complete, barring any unforeseen events.
After the Storm: Start Bay round-up
A quick note on the state-of-play at each of our coastal settlements as we move into this school half-term week following the recent storms:
At Hallsands the clean-up is well underway, led by the usual excellent volunteer team from the village. Please note that the car park is currently closed. Parish Council will meet with residents shortly to discuss necessary next steps.
At Beesands, existing rock armour has been repositioned and an additional 500 tons of new rock imported to reinforce the beachhead around the old Village Green. In a couple of locations an extra rock wall has been built across the bayfront to lessen the impact of incoming waves. Engineers hope that wave-borne shingle will fill these inlets, adding to the resilience of the backwall of rock. The additional rock will also cover the old slipway, adding vital protection to the car park and the road beyond. In the short to medium term the rock will have to be monitored and repositioned as necessary in response to any further storm damage. The car park is now largely clear of debris and the public toilets are operating. Discussions are in hand to redirect the Coast Path from the end of the far car park to Beesands Cellars and it is hoped this will re-open soon. Both the Cricket Inn and Britannia at the Beach are open for business and would appreciate your support. Further updates will follow in due course.
At Torcross, work continues to evaluate the extent of the damage, consolidate the existing defences, and tidy up after the storms. Over 500 tons of rock have been added to the defences at the north end of the village and this has prevented a significant breach of seawater into the Ley at the point where it is deemed most vulnerable. Tidy-up and safety works along the damaged road have continued: overhanging tarmac has been chipped off and as much of the broken surface as possible has been removed from the beach. Removal of the remainder the damaged piling will recommence after the half-term holiday, as will work to create a more permanent entrance to the car park.
The sea wall, which is owned by the Environment Agency, is being monitored to ensure its continuing structural integrity. Engineers will want to respond to the widespread belief in the area that its effectiveness was compromised during the storm by the unusually low beach levels, which resulted in the piling at the base of the structure, normally covered by shingle, being exposed to the full force of the incoming waves. Parish Council will convene a meeting of affected residents with representatives from the Environment Agency to explore this issue in the near future.
The clean-up around the houses on the seafront most affected by the storm continues: it is believed that some have suffered serious structural damage. Problems of overflowing sewage have been largely dealt with, at least in the short term. After intervention from Parish Council and heroic efforts by SHDC and Devon County Highways, the Tank car park is scheduled to re-open this weekend, as will the public toilets, and the Coast Path will re-open at the same time. Businesses in Torcross are open and would appreciate your support.
Stokenham Parish Council is grateful to the officers and members of South Hams District Council, Devon County Council, and their contractors for their steadfast assistance during these difficult past few weeks. Further updates will follow in due course.
After the storm – a retrospective
Two weeks since the arrival of Storm Ingrid and the community is still reeling from shock: there is a palpable sense of grief, both for the damage to the coastline and to the homes of the people who live there, and for the loss of the iconic road that runs the length of the Line. We’ve had storms before, but this one feels different. Suddenly the idea that we’re living on the front-line of climate breakdown – impossible to imagine when you’re strolling along the seafront in Torcross on a beautiful summer’s day – seems very real and tangible. However things pan out from on, there are clearly going to be some very hard choices to be made in the coming weeks, months, and even years.
How did we get here? Everyone has their own pet theories as to the cause, and favourite remedies as to the solution. The science, however, is fairly clear, and over the next few weeks and months we will be publishing a selection of writings to help our readers – who, as residents of Stokenham parish, have a right to know what’s going on – understand the background to the situation the community finds itself in. Our aim is to give our readership the best available knowledge-base to make their own informed decisions about the various options that will be open to us, and the pros and cons of each approach. Only that way can we hope to reach conclusions that are sensible, evidence-based, sustainable, and to the long-term benefit of the community.