Giant boulders on way to save battered South Devon community

A property at Torcross suffers damage from storm conditions | Kim Willis

placeholder image — A property at Torcross suffers damage from storm conditions | Kim Willis

Sea defences are set to be bolstered at Torcross but the picturesque Slapton road remains closed

Boulders have been ordered from quarries in Norway, Ireland and Scotland to bolster the defences for a storm-battered community and their homes.

The huge rocks will form part of a renewed defences to help protect the homes that were damaged by storms in Torcross earlier this year.

Thankfully for the villagers, the Environment Agency has said it does not need to apply for planning permission to put the boulders in place, and is allowed to do it under its existing powers.

There had been some concern that due to the various nature-related designations at Torcross, that permission might be required to put the new rocks in, something which could have elongated the process.

Councillor Julian Brazil, the leader of Devon County Council, assesses the damage to Torcross and the A379 road | Bradley Gerrard

A marine licence from the Marine Management Organisation is still required, but the Environment Agency said it submitted this last month.

A response is expected by October 16, and while the Agency said it could not pre-judge the MMO decision, “we have worked very hard behind the scene to optimise the chances of the licence being granted and to avoid pre-commencement conditions that might delay starting the works”.

Torcross crisis - The Exercise Tiger tank memorial at Torcross, near Slapton Sands | Bradley Gerrard

As such, contractor Kier will take over the Tank car park from September 7 which will render it inaccessible by the public, although footpaths around it will remain open.

The first of the boulders are expected to begin arriving by October 17, and they will be brought onto the beach at high tide by barges, and then retrieved and moved into position by plant machinery at low tide.

“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,” the Environment Agency said.

“We anticipate it will take approximately four to five 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.

A longer potential route between Torcross and Dartmouth that drivers might take while Slapton Line is closed but which could struggle with additional traffic | Google Maps

These works do not relate to the A379 Slapton Line road, which remains closed after a huge section was washed away. Devon County Council has applied for funding from the government’s Structure Fund, but no outcome has been confirmed yet.

The Environment Agency said it was considering how to keep public access to the existing defence and sea at the southern end, but that this was “proving difficult”.

It said it would provide an update if a solution was found, adding that it hoped to improve access from the slipway at the northern end to the lower beach levels.

“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,” the Environment Agency added.