Watch my speech on support for coastal communities in Start Bay

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐧.

Already the crisis has exposed how ill-suited our current systems and approaches are to the accelerating issue of coastal erosion.

𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

1. Funding for the repair of the A379 Slapton Line and improvement of our inland road network.

2. A commitment to provide government-backed insurance for coastal erosion, and insurance policy premiums must be capped for people whose properties have been damaged by coastal flooding.

3. Funding for sea defences along the Start Bay coastline.

4. Urgent action on the flood recovery framework to ensure localised weather incidents are treated just as seriously as national events.

5. Meaningful, dedicated financial support for local authorities dealing with coastal emergencies and the cost of emergency repairs. Councils should not be left to carry the financial consequences of a national challenge on their own.

6. A national strategy for households displaced by coastal erosion to be in place by March 2027.

   
   

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.

Tackling coastal erosion requires a response that is strategic, sustained, and genuinely cross-governmental.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐲 – 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 – 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pMEgHgYt8E