A massive cliff protection scheme is likely to go ahead this year after a council agreed to bring forward investment.

Miles Davis www.bbc.co.uk

Seaton Hole on the south coast has suffered repeated major landslips that have left beach users and coastal homes in danger.

East Devon District Council said 7,000 tonnes of rock must be delivered by sea to Seaton by September to be able to press ahead with the project before prices go up.

The council’s cabinet recommended an upfront investment of £673,500 this year to enable the £2.2m scheme to go ahead with a final decision due to be made by full council on 18 June.

The council said the decision was “critical to help reduce delays and cost increases”.

Geoff Jung, cabinet member for environment at East Devon District Council, said: “Approval from council will allow us to push ahead and order the new rock to ensure best value for money now, as delays may result in higher costs being incurred next year.”

The project included increasing the volume of existing rock armour at the base of the cliffs, upgrading the steel baskets used to hold rocks in place and maintaining the current seawall.

The total cost is expected to be £2.2m and has already been approved by the Environment Agency.

The council said it was confident planning permission would be granted, as no major issues were raised during the pre-application process.

The report said there was a “small risk”, external of not getting planning permission but “in the worst-case scenario” that would result in the council having rock armour for future schemes.

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Caroline Voaden, Lib Dem MP for South Devon, said it was baffling why South West Water bosses had not had their bonuses banned. “It’s hard to think of a company more deserving to have its boss’s bonuses banned than South West Water,” she said. “Not only did the company preside over the cryptosporidium outbreak in the relevant financial year, but in June, just weeks after the outbreak, South West Water’s CEO saw her salary increased by £300,000, proving their absolute contempt for affected customers.” Source Guardian

Six firms under bonus ban

Under the beefed-up Water Act, six firms are banned from paying bonuses this year including Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, United Utilities, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.

The ban, which is backdated to April 2024, means regulator Ofwat can force firms to claw back bonuses that have been paid or face enforcement action. It applies to share awards as well as cash.

It is part of new measures in the Water Act which comes into force on Friday.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that water company bosses “should only get bonuses if they’ve performed well, certainly not if they’ve failed to tackle water pollution”.

Officials said the government would look into companies trying to get around the ban by raising executives’ base salaries.

But Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron called the government’s announcement “half-baked”.

He added that it “doesn’t touch the sides in enacting fundamental reform – especially if water companies can still workaround bonuses and wriggle off the hook”. Source BBC