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This page was updated on 13th May 2026.

3rd February 2026 - the storm that breached the A379 road and damaged properties at Torcross.

19th March 2026 - an Environment Ageny representative appeared on a Spotlight evening news feature on coastal problems stating that rock armour (boulders) will be placed on the beach below the steel piling sea wall at Torcross.
COMMENT: No detail provided, just a casual remark at the end of a television interview.

12th May 2026 - Caroline Voaden MP announces that the Environment Agency have agreed a budget of £18.9 million to place rock armour (boulders) in front of the steel piling sea wall at Torcross. This will be from the access steps at the Southern end to the slipway at the Northern end. It will be an urgent mitigation to be in place before the winter storms.
COMMENT: Apart from bare details, no sign of any real specification (as at 2026.05.13).
Boulders have been tipped for over 20 years along the seaward side of the Slapton Shingle Ridge. They haven't provided any sustainable defence against winter storms, rather they assist sediment movement towards the Nearshore Zone. There is no mention yet for any money to relocate the A379 road further inland. An absolute necessity for tens of thousands of South Devon tax payers, not to mention seasonal visitors. No one can predict when the next severe winter storm will wreak havoc at Torcross and along the A379 road, but it is inevitable.
The £18,900,000 would be better spent on relocating Torcross properties and businesses slightly inland onto solid ground. Of the fifty, approximately, properties on the Shingle Ridge very few are lived in all year round. Many are holiday homes or holiday lets.
The Shingle Ridge is a natural feature that needs to respond dynamically to weather and tidal events. It can no longer respond when it is cluttered with reflective and stiffening structures.
Recent studies have shown that there is no shortage of Shingle sediment in this part of Start Bay, but anthropogenic activity is inhibiting the Shingle Ridge from performing it's natural function. The Shingle Ridge is supposed to be in a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Spending tax payers money on more lorries, diggers and bulldozers does not appear to be a sustainable solution. Natural processes must be allowed to maintain the Shingle Ridge.