From the pen of Councillor Peter Christie
Several weeks ago I mentioned how Torridge councillor Claire Hodson had put forward a ‘Motion for the Ocean’ which was designed to both clarify the council’s attitude to clean seas and to integrate these views into the new Local Plan. It came up for ratification last week where it was passed nearly unanimously. I did ask where this leaves us with regard to the ticking time bomb that is the old tip on Northam Burrows as if that is eroded out it could have a huge impact on the North Devon coastline. Nick Laws, who represents Westward Ho!, reckoned it would either succumb to wave action or sea level rise would inundate it – not a great choice! Doug Bushby pointed out that the tip covers a massive area and is virtually impossible to move so Torridge has a major problem on its hands.
I then pointed out that South West Water have a dire record for releasing sewage into our coastal waters at times of ‘peak flow’ – all legal of course but hardly congruent with the ‘Motion for the Ocean’. Unfortunately we still do not know the carrying capacity for the Cornborough sewage works – a rather vital figure given the thousands of new houses the area is expected to take over the next decade. Nick Laws blamed much of the problem on ‘the wrong type of rain’ (shades of British Rail) in that global warming seems to be giving us monsoon-like downpours which overwhelm the system. Given this it is not that reassuring to hear that developers are still intent on installing ‘Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems’ into new estates around Bideford – the ones that failed at Moreton. Clearly these are live issues.
