Devon Maritime Forum unveils storm report

On the first anniversary of one of the most devastating winter storms to hit the county in years, the Devon Maritime Forum has launched its report on the events.

The “Holding the Line?” report reviews the impact of the winter storms of 2013/14 and assesses the responses and resilience of people and places in Devon.

The economic impact of the storms is estimated to be anything from £60 million to £1.2 billion over the two months of the rail closure.

All industries were hit, with a £135 million reduction in holiday spending in the first half of 2014, compared with the same period from the previous year, and Brixham Fish Market experienced a £3 million reduction in sales in Spring 2014, compared with Spring 2013.

The report states that the impact of the images of the winter storms were as, “powerful and devastating, economically, as the physical impacts of the storms themselves.”

Communities are praised by the Forum for coping with the storms with a quick and co-ordinated response, stating that, “while some physical defences may not have held, the spirit and nerve of many coastal communities did.”

However, with the likelihood of an increasing incidence of extreme events, the report states that lessons have to be learned, and that action must be taken now to ensure responses are improved to help communities cope and bounce back from any future events.

The report highlights a number of failures in the “official” response to the storms. According to the Forum, grants and compensation schemes aimed at helping flood victims and communities impacted by the storms were not made available quickly enough and were poorly advertised. The application processes are also criticised for being too complex.

Many fishermen in the county suffered significant loss of income and gear but, in the absence of government support, the Fishermen’s Mission had to step in to help pay bills. When the Marine Management Organisation made aid available through its EFF Storm Damage Gear Replacement Scheme, the Forum reports that many deemed it too little, too late.

The Forum has identified three examples of good responses in the immediate aftermath of the storms. These were Network Rail’s repair of the mainline at Dawlish, which ensured the line re-opened on time on 4 April; Visit Devon’s “Open for Business” campaign, which was launched to counter negative perceptions; and the Devon Flood Recovery and Co-ordination Group, led by Devon County Council, which provided practical and financial support for affected communities after the emergency response and relief phase had finished.

The Devon Maritime Forum believes it could help co-ordinate and better inform affected communities, and provide an over-arching county/regional link between local communities and central government in future.

Professor Ed Maltby, Chairman of the Devon Maritime Forum, said: “The recommendations the Forum have made represent the first step in what will be a long-term process of resilience building. These are challenging issues in a tough economic climate.

"The process will require input from government, policy makers, planners, engineers, scientists and crucially, local communities – the businesses and households with the greatest stake in these issues.

"We all need to work towards collective, localised solutions rather than centralised, top-down, ‘expert’ driven ones. Coastal partnerships, like the DMF, are uniquely placed to facilitate and coordinate this on-going conversation between various local stakeholders, policy makers and people on the front line.”

The Forum sets out a number of recommendations to help improve the resilience of coastal communities and businesses in Devon in future extreme events.

These include:

-    recognising and valuing the knowledge, experience and suggestions of the local community;
-    improving access to, and awareness of, grants/aid and compensation schemes;
-    Assessing the advantages of soft engineering and environmental schemes versus hard physical defences;
-    Making better use of coastal partnerships.

For more information go to www.devonmaritimeforum.org.uk

Photo courtesy of Network Rail.