UK seaside village faces vanishing forever in £20m ‘race against time’ | UK | News
Village in England ‘races against time’ as risks fade (Image: William Dax / SWNS)
An entire village in the UK could be lost forever as residents face a ‘race against time’ to save their homes.
The popular Devon seaside village of Torcross has been the victim of several severe storms.
Last winter properties were damaged and large sections of the A379 main road were washed away.
Now, the Environment Agency (EA) has agreed a £19.8m recovery plan which will “buy some time for the community”.
Work is scheduled to begin this summer and 55,000 tonnes of rock are expected to be repositioned in front of the existing sea defences.
This will create a temporary protective line of rock armor.
A £20 million fund has been allocated to save the village (Image: William Dax / SWNS)
The parking lot storm breach will also be repaired by June 2027, along with rock paving work.
Despite the feeling of “utter elation” following the funding announcement, residents still fear the sea defenses may not be completed in time to save their homes.
Hannah Miller, general manager of the Start Bay Inn, said it was “a race against time” to get the job done.
He said: “If the storms are like this year and we don’t make it, then the future is going to be pretty bleak.”
In February, villagers were stranded amid 12ft waves during a storm.
Many properties were damaged in the storm (Image: William Dax / SWNS)
Despite major funding, the repair of the Slapton Line (A379) is not part of the planned Environment Agency project.
The community village of 300 people argued that this road was a “lifeline to the village” and that its closure made access and transport increasingly difficult.
The route, which connects Torcross and the neighboring village of Slapton, was damaged by the destruction of sea defenses in storms in January, then was further destroyed in February.
At the time, Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden reportedly told locals the road could be closed for “at least” a year.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said the damage was “extremely concerning” and that the Government was investing to strengthen flood and coastal defences.
EA coastal engineer George Arnison said the plan was “value for money” but was not a permanent solution and there were no “easy answers”.
He added: “Will it buy society some time, buy government some time, buy the Environment Agency some time to think about what the long-term future here is going to be?”
