§ Mr. SpellerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what help he will give to restore the damaged sea wall and to prevent further flood damage(a) along the north Devon coast and (b) to the towns of Ilfracombe and Lynmouth.
§ Mr. CurryApart from Ilfracombe and Lynmouth, we are aware of only minor damage to sea defence along the north Devon coast.
At Lynmouth the county council, as highway authority, is taking responsibility for the damage to the works protecting the coastal road. At Ilfracombe temporary works to repair the damage to a section of the sea wall are already in place, and the National Rivers Authority south-west region is designing a scheme to provide a permanent defence. We understand that the North Devon district council is currently dealing with another flooding problem in the town. Grant is available (at rates up to 70 per cent.) on works which are economically, technically and environmentally acceptable.
National Rivers Authority and local authority programmes of flood defence works may change as a result of recent storm events, so we have asked authorities for an early indication of these changes in order to assess the future work and funding implications. It is our intention to ensure that Government funding is sufficient to support a programme which takes full account of these needs.