Hundreds march in support of coastal road repair

Hundreds of people have walked along a Devon coastal route as part of a campaign to get it repaired nearly four months after much of it was washed away in winter storms.

Parts of the A379 between Torcross and Slapton broke apart after storms damaged sea defences protecting it. In May, the Environment Agency (EA) announced £19.8m was awarded to repair sea defences and protect homes in Torcross.

Walk organiser Paul Green, who said about 400 people took part, said the road needed fixed because the "villages are broken", the "communities are not sustainable without good transport links" and people were "dependent on it".

Devon County Council said it was doing all it could to support the community.

Resident and business owner Emma Hutchinson said she was pleased with the walk's turnout.

She said businesses had come together to show the impact it had had on the community.

Hutchinson said her business "on average was about 20% down on last year", with others "a lot worse."

She said: "There's a huge range of communities that are involved in using this road. Whether it's for recreation or whether it's for business, there are people who have their commute to school on this road as well.

"So it involves so many different people, young and old, and everyone in between.

"If an A road went in any other part of the country, it would be repaired."

Devon County Council said it knew how tough the closure has been and it was doing all it could to support the community, while looking at both short and longer-term options.

The authority said it had put extra funding into highways "which included work to help protect parts of the coastline at Slapton, Torcross and Beesands" and it said improvement work to the diversion routes was under way.

It added: "Rebuilding the road is a complex and costly challenge and we will need government support to make it happen, and we are preparing a bid for funding to reinstate the road."

The government said it would "continue to work with the county council as it determines its next steps".

"Our new Structures Fund will repair and renew roads across England, and local highway authorities have until 3 August to apply for investment," it said.

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