Funding to plan the future of the Slapton Line in the event of further damaging storms has been secured by the Slapton Line Partnership (SLP).
The SLP are delighted to announce that funding has been secured from the Environment Agency, South Hams District Council (SHDC) and Devon County Council to allow for the recruitment of an Adaptation Manager.
The purpose of this new post will be to work closely with the community and the Partnership to help to ease traffic issues and to create positive changes to prepare for the future loss of the Slapton Line A379 road.
The post will be hosted by the South Devon Area of National Beauty (AONB).
A study has shown that there is now no room left to move the road following the severe storm of 2018 which devastated 700m of the highway and made it necessary to move it up 20m closer to the edge of Slapton Ley. Though it is impossible to predict when damage will occur, sea level rise and changing weather patterns will lead to the road being increasingly at risk.
As a result the Partnership have had to create a new plan of action for the future and accepts that, if another storm badly damages the road and it can’t be easily repaired, the road is unlikely to be replaced again.
The Partnership knows that this would have a huge impact on local communities and road users, so they have created an Adaptation Plan. This has been informed by suggestions from the community at a series of recent workshops to reduce the impact and make changes to help the communities thrive after the road has gone.
Significant funding has already been used to improve passing places and road surfaces along alternative routes and some improvements will continue to be made.