Dawlish sea wall recommended for approval despite objections

Plans will be discussed next week.

The scheme will raise the wall from its current height of 5m to 7.5m, widen the walkway to 4m from its current 3.1m width, and include a barrier between the pedestrians and the edge of the to stop people falling off the wall, and the design is set to prevent stormy conditions from damaging the railway at Dawlish.

The plans have been submitted for ‘prior approval’ under Network Rail’s permitted development rights, meaning only the proposed designs and whether they would negatively impact the amenity of the area can be considered.

Council planners are recommending that the scheme be approved, despite admitting in their conclusion there would be a negative impact on the amenity of the area.

The report says: “The proposal is driven by the need to address an existing flooding problem and to meet the future demands of climate change where sea levels are predicted to rise by 0.8 metre in the next 100 years. The works would protect the existing mainline railway which constitutes a regionally-important part of the sustainable transport infrastructure.

“In this case there would be benefits to community and the wider region from confidence in the resilience of the railway infrastructure, a decrease in localised flooding, and an improved public walkway.

“There would be a negative impact on the amenity of the area from the increase in the height of the new sea wall, its appearance and a loss of views towards the sea from Marine Parade. Network Rail have modified their proposal to reduce its impact in terms of land take and appearance.

“The principal reason for objection to the proposal by residents and holiday makers is the height of the new sea wall and its implications on sea views in the area.

“It is not considered that the height of the wall is reasonably capable of modification as any reduction in height would reduce the effectiveness of the development in preventing sea water over-topping. Therefore it is concluded that prior approval should be granted for the proposal.”

The report outlines that the proposed works to protect the railway line have more than district-wide implications, as a failure in the line in this location impacts accessibility to the South West, including Plymouth, Torbay and Cornwall.

It adds: “The opportunity and benefit of providing long term resilience to the railway line through the implementation of the proposed development is evident. In the light of the storm event in 2014 which resulted in closure of the railway line it is evident that the proposed works to increase the resilience to this important section of sustainable transport infrastructure are necessary.

“However provision of a scheme to achieve this objective would have implications for the amenity of the area. In order to reduce incursion of sea water during a storm event it is inevitable that some form of physical barrier would be needed. In this case the higher walls would be visible from both the beach and Marine Parade.”

The report says that the increase in height of the new wall by up to 2.5 metres would impact on views from Marine Parade towards the sea. It says: “The total loss of views of the sea from this location would inevitably harm the quality of public amenity in this location and would have an adverse impact on the character of the area.

“It is commonly held that in planning “there is no right to a view”. While this is correct in strictly legal terms a loss of view from a public viewpoint might also have a wider impact on a neighbourhood, and should be taken into account in decision making.”

There were 62 comments received on the planning application, with 58 objecting, two supporting, and two making a general comment.

Objections to the plans included that the 7.5m wall would negatively impact the appearance of Dawlish, the charm of Dawlish will be lost to an overpowering wall of concrete, and that it will destroy everyone’s view.

One comment simply said ‘stupid idea’, while others said it was an outrageous idea and an aesthetic disaster that will deter people from visiting Dawlish.

An open letter has been written to Chris Grayling, the transport minister, and MPs by Dawlish Beach Cams, explaining their objection to the scheme as it currently is

The Government in February announced £80m of investment to raise the Dawlish seawall, but the report states the cost of delivering the proposed works is only £30m Future applications are anticipated for future phases of resilience works, it adds.

As land within Teignbridge’s ownership is included in the application, it is required to be determined by the planning committee.

Officers recommend that prior approval notification is granted as although the proposal would impact the visual amenity of the area, the proposal is considered to be acceptable in amenity terms.

The committee meets a week today (Tuesday 16th April) to determine the fate of the application.