The sea wall, promenade and beach area are popular public spaces as well as providing coastal flood protection to Teignmouth. It was therefore essential for the Agency to carry out repairs quickly as the instability of the wall and promenade threatened increased flood risk to homes and possible safety risks for the public.

The Environment Agency worked with Teignbridge District Council and contractors Team Van Oord to repair the sea wall and secure it for the future.

During the work a granite ‘obelisk’ – thought to be a marker stone dating back to 1874 – was discovered on the beach. The stone was recovered and the local authority hopes the obelisk can be reinstated in its rightful place near the lighthouse.

The Agency described conditions during the repair work as challenging, with continued storms, bad weather, and access for machinery only possible on the low tides around spring tides.

Environment Agency staff were only able to work on the beach for a few hours at a time, for a few days at a time, and often had to work during the night.

Thom Buxton-Smith, for the Environment Agency, said:

Despite these challenges we worked with Team Van Oord to complete the repairs quickly. The voids have been filled beneath the promenade, slipway and car park. We have repaired the limestone masonry sea wall and installed steel sheet piling at the base of the wall to stabilise it,

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