Map of vulnerable areas of Devon:
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/new-maps-show-huge-areas-3542656
Category Archives: Coastal communities
“ALTERNATIVE LOCAL VISION FOR QUEEN’S DRIVE”
Press Release
“Challenged by EDDC to come up with a solution for the development of Phase 3 Queen’s Drive, Councillor Nick Hookway and a team of committed local residents present their scheme to the Delivery Group at EDDC on Monday 28th October.
Highlight of the costed plan include a free play area for the under 8s and an innovative pay play area with high ropes, water wars and climbing towers for older children and adults.
The vision is to create a destination that will complement the Watersports Centre and Restaurant offer on phase2 and will cater for all age groups, all abilities and huge variety of interests. It is backed by research into current trends in the leisure industry, the experience of other seaside towns in England and surveys carried out by locals and HemingwayDesign.
In addition to the play areas there are plans for an intimate arts/performance space for hire, a sunken garden where the Swans used to be and a gift shop and café. The educational feature of the scheme is an interactive Discovery Centre telling the story of our unique coastline and estuary. Fronting the site a brand new Crazy Golf.
All this will be delivered by a not for profit organisation so that community benefit will be felt by local residents. Councillor Hookway will be asking EDDC that these proposals will be given equal opportunity alongside Hemingway Design so that the Town can decide what happens on the Seafront.”
and here:
https://www.devonlive.com/whats-on/alternative-vision-exmouth-seafront-site-3476360
Where is Exmouth Common?
“Seaside residents dominate personal debt league in England and Wales”
Owl says: Has anyone seen policies to reverse this trend from our Local Enterprise Partnership? Or even from EDDC? Or DCC?
Hint: development in Exmouth is the “traditional” kind the article points out as leading to problems.
“Seaside towns and cities dominate the list of areas with the highest numbers of people getting into serious difficulties with debt, according to new figures.
Scarborough, the largest resort on the Yorkshire coast, ranked second out of 347 local authorities in England and Wales for personal insolvencies, while Torbay in Devon – which includes the town of Torquay – came third, said the accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
Plymouth, on the south coast of Devon, was ranked fourth, while Blackpool was in sixth place.
However, it was the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands which had the highest rate of personal insolvencies, recording just over 51 per 10,000 adults in 2018. The national average was 25, said the firm.
The insolvency rate includes personal bankruptcies, debt relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements….
Other coastal locations or regions featured in the firm’s “top 20” included Weymouth and Portland in Dorset, which includes the resort of Weymouth, which was in 12th place (39.6 insolvencies per 10,000 adults); the Isle of Wight, in 13th place (39.3 per 10,000); Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, in 14th place (39.2 per 10,000); Cornwall, in 17th place (38.5 per 10,000); and Hastings in East Sussex, in 19th place (38 per 10,000).
The accountancy firm said many coastal towns outside south-east England had struggled to replace their traditional industries with faster growth sectors such as financial services and technology. …”
“New report reveals alarming shortage of country doctors”
“Hospitals in rural and coastal Britain are struggling to recruit senior medical staff, leaving many worryingly “under-doctored”, a major new report seen exclusively by the Observer reveals. Some hospitals in those areas appointed no consultants last year, raising fears that the NHS may become a two-tier service across the UK with care dependent on where people live.
Disclosure of the stark urban-rural split emerged in a census of consultant posts across the UK undertaken by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), whose president, Andrew Goddard, has warned that patients’ lives may be at risk because some hospitals do not have enough senior doctors.
Just 13% of consultants appointed in England last year went to hospitals serving mainly rural or coastal areas, with the other 87% being hired by those with mainly urban populations.
…”
“Living By The Sea Is Officially Good For Your Mental Health “
“Researchers from the University of Exeter used survey data from 25,963 respondents in their investigations into the wellbeing impacts of being by the coast.
After taking other related factors into account, they found that those who live less than a kilometre from the coast are 22% less likely to have symptoms of a mental health disorder than those who live 50km or more away.
Those from low income households less than a kilometre from the coast are around 40% less likely to have symptoms, compared to those earning the same amount living more than 50km away …”
“Extreme sea level events ‘will hit once a year by 2050’ “
“Extreme sea level events that used to occur once a century will strike every year on many coasts by 2050, no matter whether climate heating emissions are curbed or not, according to a landmark report by the world’s scientists.
The stark assessment of the climate crisis in the world’s oceans and ice caps concludes that many serious impacts are already inevitable, from more intense storms to melting permafrost and dwindling marine life.
But far worse impacts will hit without urgent action to cut fossil fuel emissions, including eventual sea level rise of more than 4 metres in the worst case, an outcome that would redraw the map of the world and harm billions of people.
The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and approved by its 193 member nations, says that “all people on Earth depend directly or indirectly on the ocean” and ice caps and glaciers to regulate the climate and provide water and oxygen. But it finds unprecedented and dangerous changes being driven by global heating.
Sea level rise is accelerating as losses from Greenland and Antarctica increase, and the ocean is getting hotter, more acidic and less oxygenated. All these trends will continue to the end of the century, the IPCC report said.
Half the world’s megacities, and almost 2 billion people, live on coasts. Even if heating is restricted to just 2C, scientists expect the impact of sea level rise to cause several trillion dollars of damage a year, and result in many millions of migrants.
“The future for low-lying coastal communities looks extremely bleak,” said Prof Jonathan Bamber at Bristol University in the UK, who is not one of the report’s authors. “But the consequences will be felt by all of us. There is plenty to be concerned about for the future of humanity and social order from the headlines in this report.”
“Have your say on the management of East Devon’s Jurassic Coast”
A Jurrasic Coast National Park from Studland Bay to Exmouth? Surely our new ruling group will be keen on that won’t they?
“The organisation that looks after the Jurassic Coast is inviting input from people in East Devon, as it sets out its management plan for the next five years.
A draft plan has been drawn up, and consultation days will be held in Exmouth, Sidmouth and Seaton for people to learn about the proposals and have their say.
The Jurassic Coast Trust’s work includes putting out information about rock falls and landslips, promoting responsible fossil collecting, educating the public through museums and visitor centres, and giving guidance to local organisations, to ensure that development and tourism does not harm the Jurassic Coast.
Public consultation days will take place on
Tuesday, September 10,
at Exmouth Library;
Thursday, September 19,
at Sidmouth Library; and
Wednesday, September 25,
at Seaton Jurassic.
Members of the trust’s staff will be on hand between 10am and 3pm to talk through the draft plan and answer questions.
Following the consultation, the plan is due to be published in the next few months.”
“£1.5 million funding gap in Sidmouth’s preferred coastal protection plan”
Surfers Against Sewage warn about Budleigh Salterton and Ladram beaches
“Sidmouth rated as one of the most expensive holiday spots in UK”
“England’s seaside towns where young people might disappear”
Does our Local Enterprise Partnership – which could but does not invest in coastal regeneration – care? Not one jot.
“Analysis by BBC News of population projections has found seaside towns in northern England could see the biggest decline in under-30s.
The Parliamentary Group for Coastal Communities said funding cuts meant seaside towns were “being left behind”.
The government said it had invested more than £200m in coastal communities.
The coastline in England is home to some of the most beautiful but also poorest places in England. …
BBC News has analysed the population projections made by the ONS for 75 local authorities in England with a coastline.
More than half of the local authorities could see a fall in the number of residents under the age of 30 by the year 2039.
The biggest decline in the number of under-30s could be in the north of England, where every local authority with a coastline, except Liverpool, might see a fall in the number of young people.
Collectively northern seaside communities might see a reduction of 200,000 under-30s over the next two decades.
In contrast, coastal authorities in the south, such as Bristol (+13%), Canterbury (+6.4%) and Southampton (+4.7%) could see substantial rises in the number of young people …”
EDDC Leader promises consultation on Phase 3 of seafront development
“Coastal towns hit hardest by soaring level of insolvencies”
Article specifically mentions Torbay and Plymouth:
“Heatwaves test limits of nuclear power”
Not true, as the article implies, that because Hinkley C uses seawater, which is cooler, it is not at risk. There are many examples of coastal nuclear reactors having to close down because seawater has become too warm in heatwaves – including in places such as Finland, Sweden and Germany. Here’s the evidence:
“Enthusiasts describe nuclear power as an essential tool to combat the climate emergency because, unlike renewables, it is a reliable source of base load power.
This is a spurious claim because power stations are uniquely vulnerable to global heating. They need large quantities of cooling water to function, however the increasing number of heatwaves are threatening this supply.
The French energy company EDF is curbing its output from four reactors in Bugey, on the Rhône River near the Swiss border, because the water is too warm and the flow is low.
Some reactors in the US are also frequently affected. This matters in both countries because the increasing use of air conditioning means electricity demand is high during summer heatwaves and intermittent nuclear power is not much help.
This does not affect nuclear power stations in the UK because they draw their water supplies from the sea, which stays relatively cool. However, it may affect plans to build small reactors on a lake in Trawsfynydd, Wales. And it may also reduce some of the UK’s power supplies during the summer.
As heatwaves intensify, the flow of electricity from French reactors through the growing number of cross-Channel interconnector cables cannot be relied on.”
Surfers Against Sewage warn bathers to avoid Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton after recent heavy rain
“Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location [Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton] within the past 48 hours.
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/urgent-warning-not-go-sea-2969102
“Environment Agency Chair calls for new approach to flood and coastal resilience”
“… Launching a major, long-term strategy to tackle flooding and coastal change, Environment Agency Chair, Emma Howard Boyd has said ‘we cannot win a war against water’ by building higher flood defences and called for a new approach to ensure communities are resilient to the threat of flooding posed by climate change.
Opening an 8-week consultation on the new strategy, Emma Howard Boyd said that the Environment Agency is preparing for a potential 4°C rise in global temperature and urgent action is needed to tackle more frequent, intense flooding and sea level rise.
Among the recommendations in the strategy, the Environment Agency has committed to working with partners to develop consistent standards for flood and coastal resilience across the country. To achieve these standards, communities should have access to a range of tools which give them control of how they prepare for and respond to flooding and coastal change, based on the challenges or flood risk that particular location may face.
These could include traditional defences, temporary barriers, natural flood management, sustainable drainage systems, effective flood warnings and emergency response, alongside designing and adapting existing properties and new development so they can recover quickly from a flood. …”
Seaside towns: “reinvent or die”
The report can be found here:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/regenerating-seaside-towns/news-parliament-2017/seaside-report-published/
ITV News summary:
“Seaside towns need to be reinvented to attract tourists and residents and become desirable places to live and visit, a parliament report has said.
The report called on improvements to education, housing and transport links, so seaside towns can “reinvent themselves with a long-term, place-based vision.”
In the Future of Seaside Town report, peers said poor transport links to seaside towns are “severely hindering” opportunities to improve tourism and attract funding.
They warned young people are at a disadvantage because of their limited access to education, especially post 16-education.
The report called on the government to improve digital connectivity, most notably high-speed broadband, saying doing so would provide an opportunity to “overcome the challenges of peripherality in coastal areas.”
Coastal towns which emerged as leisure and pleasure resorts in the 19th century have been neglected for “too long”.
The House of Lords select committee said these places should once again be “celebrated as places that can provide attractive environments for residents and visitors.”
The peers also called for ministers to set out how coastal areas will benefit from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will replace EU funding after Brexit, and to increase resources for the Coastal Communities Fund.
What is needed is a package of strategic initiatives and interventions where national and local government work together to address issues such as transport, housing, post-school education and high-speed broadband.
Lord Bassam of Brighton
Places like Brighton and Bournemouth have shown that the seaside can successfully reinvent itself.
Lord Bassam of Brighton said: “The potential impact of Brexit on these towns, particularly the hospitality sector, also remains an open question.
“A single solution to their economic and social challenges doesn’t exist. What is needed is a package of strategic initiatives and interventions where national and local government work together to address issues such as transport, housing, post-school education and high-speed broadband.”
He added: “The committee is confident that if our recommendations are pursued, seaside towns can once again become prosperous and desirable places to live in and visit.”
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The Government is determined to ensure our economy works for everyone and every place.
“We are on track to invest £200 million in the Great British Coast by 2020 and recently announced a £36 million package of support to projects in coastal communities through our Coastal Communities Fund and Coastal Revival Fund.
“We have also made a commitment to support towns to harness their unique strengths to grow and prosper through the £1.6 billion Stronger Towns Fund.
“We recognise the challenges facing our seaside towns and will carefully consider the committee’s recommendations to build on the significant steps we have already taken to help coastal communities thrive.”
https://www.itv.com/news/2019-04-04/action-urged-to-reinvent-struggling-seaside-towns/
Temporary Exmouth seafront attractions have already cost us £300,000
Owl says: imagine if other coastal towns in East Devon had this much spent on them …
“Under questioning from [Independent councillor Megan Armstrong at last week’s East Devon District Council meeting, Councillor Philip Skinner revealed that £285,305, was spent by the council for the first year of the new attractions in Queen’s Drive, Exmouth.
Cllr Skinner said that the costs included £155,000 on the new dinosaur-themed play park, as well as other costs on the beach bar seating area, the events stage and making the whole site safe.
He also said the council spent £22,850 putting on events such as free live screenings from the Royal Opera House.
Under questioning from councillor Megan Armstrong at last week’s East Devon District Council meeting, Councillor Philip Skinner revealed that £285,305, was spent by the council for the first year of the new attractions in Queen’s Drive, Exmouth.
Cllr Skinner said that the costs included £155,000 on the new dinosaur-themed play park, as well as other costs on the beach bar seating area, the events stage and making the whole site safe.
He also said the council spent £22,850 putting on events such as free live screenings from the Royal Opera House.
In response, Councillor Skinner said he didn’t expect to be facing criticism for investing money in Exmouth.
He said: “We are trying to get more people into the town, and to get them to spend more money there.
“It shouldn’t be a criticism that we are investing more in Exmouth and the town councillors should be chuffed to think we are investing in the town.
“We tried new things and people did like them.
“Some events didn’t go well, but others did.
“We made all of our revenue costs back and made a profit, and I expect to do so in future.
“We are continuing to invest in Exmouth’s seafront and have also been invited to a Stage 2 bid for Coastal Communities Fund that will further benefit the seafront.
“For 2019, our budget is £75,000, which includes staffing, event cost, equipment hire, maintenance, security and utility costs.
“We expect to secure income of between £30,000 and £40,000 this year, depending on sponsorship secured, and a further £12,000 for the big wheel.”
https://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/seafront-attractions-cost-1-5917372
“Regional” chain restaurant chosen as preferred bidder for Sidmouth Drill Hall
https://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/restaurant-bids-proposed-for-drill-hall-site-1-5906323
Mitch Tonks Rockfish?
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage?
Not allowed to know.
East Devon Watch 