General Discussion

This is from the BBC website, although I'm unsure what Mr Broom believes he will achieve by making these threats: People living and working in and around a seaside town in Devon are considering taking legal action against the Environment Agency (EA). Dawlish Warren's tourism group says the agency has failed in its duty to maintain the sea defences. It claims if the sea breaks through it will be catastrophic for the Warren and low-lying Exe estuary villages. The EA denies the claims, saying it has spent £100,000 shoring up defences at the Warren. EA spokesman Martin Davies said the agency was aware of the erosion and it had improved and increased its maintenance regime. "We recently spent more than £100,000 repairing groynes [wooden walls] and putting in rock armour because of the erosion," he said. "As part of the shoreline management, we have a policy which says we will hold the line at Dawlish Warren and we have an immediate and ongoing commitment to the site." Dawlish Warren was a very dynamic site and had an important flood defence role, Mr Davies said. "If Dawlish Warren was breached like it was in the 1940s, it's possible wave height would increase in the estuary, putting residents at risk. "If we could not hold the line, we would repair a breach, but longer term it might not be sustainable because of rising sea levels and climate change." But Simon Broom, who has lived at the Warren all his life, told BBC News the defences are being eroded and are not being properly maintained. "We need to save this - not just for ourselves, not just for the tourism industry, but for everybody who uses the River Exe and everybody who lives up and down the River Exe," he said. The EA said it has to consider the long-term strategy for the area before spending millions of pounds on sea defence work. Last week Teignbridge District Council announced it was bidding for money to ship in sand from the Isle of Wight to replenish the tonnes lost during storms.

Cllr Wally Protheroe will be in a panic, as the luxury flats he built on a flood plain would be at risk of flooding even though they were built 1 metre higher than ground level.

I didn't realise that those apartments were built on a flood plain. Interesting. However, more interesting than petty political sniping are the environmental impacts for the Warren that a continued rise of sea levels due to global warming will cause.

Thats not sniping thats telling it how it is.

Dont ever remember the caravans that had been there before flooding. Nor do i remember the flats flooding so hardly a flood plain.

It does not have to have flooded previously to become a designated flood plain.