Cumulative Impact of Severe
Weather in Cornwall:
Winter 2013 / 2014 Type of incident: Flooding and coastal damage caused by severe weather, strong winds, large waves, high tides and storm surges
Report Date: 19 November 2014 V1.3
Lead Agency: Cornwall Council
Author: Rob Andrew – Asst. Head of Service – Localism and
Devolution and David Read Policy Specialist - Strategy and Policy
Revision History
Revision Date Version No. Summary of Change Changes made by
14 May 2014 0.1 Initial draft Rob Andrew
12 June 2014 0.2 Updated draft following meeting Rob Andrew
Updated following feedback from 24 June 0.3 Rob Andrew DS, AR, SB, ER, AB and AS Updated following feedback from 30 June 0.4 MA, DR, AB, NB, GT, DR, SH and Rob Andrew MB
2 July 0.5 General update Rob Andrew
Update following feedback from AS, 7 July 0.6 Rob Andrew BH, ER, DC, AB ,TL, SH and PD Updates following feedback from 14 July 0.7 David Read CS and general update Updates following feedback from 25 July 0.8 Hannah Harris, Rachael Bice and David Read SH and general update from DR General update – SWW, CCF, Small 18 August 0.9 Rob Andrew Ports etc.
27 August 0.10 Final Draft Update Rob Andrew
12 September 0.11 Finance and Exec Summary Update Rob Andrew
10 October 0.12 Flood support update David Read
15 October 2014 V1.1 Updated version – Full Report David Read
24 October V1.2 Figures updated Rob Andrew
19 November V1.3 Updated PAC comments David Read 2014
Distribution List
Name Organisation
TBC
This Document is owned by Cornwall Council.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 2
Contents
Contents 3
Impact of Severe Weather – Winter 2014 8
1. Introduction and Timeline 10
2. Impact Assessment 12 2.1 Key Infrastructure Impacts 12 2.1.2 Highway Infrastructure – Strategic Network Incidents 13 2.1.4 Rail Network 15 2.1.5 Air 15 2.1.6.1 Maritime facilities 16 2.1.6.2 Maritime Links 18 2.1.7 South West Coast Path 19 2.1.9 Heritage Assets 20 2.1.10 Flood Protection, Water Supply and Sewage Assets 21 2.1.11 Power and Communications Infrastructure 24 2.1.12 Public Buildings and Property 24 2.2.1 Evacuations and Flooded Properties 25 2.2.2 Work by volunteers, community groups and Town and Parish Councils 25 2.2.3 Local Support to Victims 26 2.2.4 Financial Support 26 2.2.5 Short and Long Term Health Implications 29 2.2.6 Community Engagement 30 2.2.7 Communications 30
2.3 Key Economic Impacts 31 2.3.1 Tourism 31 2.3.2 Retail 32 2.3.3 Manufacturing 33 2.3.4 Fishing 33
2.4 Key Environmental Impacts 35 2.4.1 Beaches and the coastline 35 2.4.2 Wildlife 37 2.4.3 Water ecology 37 2.4.4 Surface Water Run-off 38 2.4.5 Geology and Natural Landscape assets 38
Acknowledgements 40
Appendix 1 – Coastal Path Impacts 41
Appendix 2 – Green Infrastructure Impacts 43
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 3
Executive Summary
Background
From December 2013 to March 2014, Cornwall experienced a particularly prolonged period of severe stormy weather including heavy rains, high winds which on occasion coincided with spring tides and storm surges. This lead to severe sea conditions which caused considerable damage around the entire coast of Cornwall. Multi-agency Emergency Management procedures were being implemented almost continuously throughout this period with recovery work still ongoing.
In many instances, particularly in relation to the highway infrastructure and the South West Coast Path, the storm damage compounded damage inflicted from the previous four years. As well as the obvious effects to Cornwall infrastructure and environment, the storms had social and economic impact. This report, the first produced in Cornwall of this type, looks to set out all of these impacts and the interdependencies as well as identifying measures that mitigate the impacts now and in the future.
Strategic Overview
Cornwall is particularly vulnerable to weather impacts on its transport and distribution network due to its peripheral and linear geography and its consequent reliance on a limited number of highway, air and rail routes.
Cornwall was impacted by twelve major storm events between December 2013 and March 2014. Huge damage was caused to coastal infrastructure in numerous locations and it is estimated that £4.4m of interim and £17.0m of permanent capital repairs were required as a result of damage. An estimated £8.2m was lost from visitors not coming to Cornwall in January/February 2014 alone. First Great Western reported a loss of two thirds of passengers into Cornwall and Devon while the Dawlish line was closed, despite alternative transport being provided.
These impacts and consequences are highlighted in this report but the summary for Cornwall can be expressed as follows:
• Extreme rainfall causes delay and failure of highway infrastructure; exacerbated by potholes and cumulative repair backlogs. • Coastal storm surges and sea level rise resulted in the suspension of strategic transport links into Cornwall and critical coastal infrastructure. • Severe storms and high winds mean that the Tamar Bridge is closed to high sided vehicles relatively regularly, and sometimes to all traffic. There are limited alternative routes. • Minor roads are affected by falling trees and power cables. These are key distribution routes for local business and bus routes for those who don’t run a car. • Rough weather will also impact on air services, particularly connectivity with the Isles of Scilly, where supply vulnerability is an even more immediate issue.
Funding support from Government and planning for extreme weather in Cornwall has reaped dividends in the past:
• Defences for St.Ives and Truro centres following 1980s and 1990s flooding • St.Blazey and Par showed improved flood resilience following recent improvements to defences and drainage. • Network Rail delivered an exceptional and quick rebuild of Dawlish • Multi agency reaction in Cornwall was effective.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 4
However, there are some outstanding strategic issues: • Long term resilience and feasibility of the rail network into Cornwall • Reduction in the bureaucracy in seeking military assistance to undertake condition surveys of coastal assets • The Flood Defence Grant and Aid benefits populous areas but not those like Cornwall where infrastructure is limited and put under additional strain by visitor numbers. Cornwall would like to see this addressed. • Bid documentation funding for grant funding is too simplistic & does not take into account the scale of the infrastructure that requires reparatory works.
Cornwall – together with other partners in the peninsula – want to be able to establish an economic impact methodology for prolonged and severe weather. Many of the consequences of the impacts highlighted in this report have had an economic consequence. This includes; delay, damage, impact on supply chains and loss of earnings. Cornish communities battled through the storms to keep local economies and public and voluntary services going; but these impact issues need to be captured before they are forgotten.
As a guide, previous estimates made by Cornwall Council of the storms in November and December 2012 indicated that the Cornish economy lost at least £60m.
A summary of our strategic asks
• Enabling resources to support connectivity away from the main Highway infrastructure • Support to clear and maintain the drainage infrastructure, which will also aid Cornwall’s growth ambitions. • That capital project partnerships (not just public money) recognise in many instances the vulnerability and importance of the built environment for Cornish communities. • The need for a bespoke Cornwall Strategic Flood Deal Package to enable long term strategic programming against the likelihood of extreme weather, rather than a year on year bidding process, delivering efficiencies and economies of scale. This would also deliver more certainty for communities with a strategic rather than a project approach. This links to confidence to deliver the Growth Deal agreed with Government.
The growth agenda can also help deliver a more accessible public realm and coastal stretches. Resilience will deliver growth and growth will deliver resilience.
A summary of our local asks
• Strategic energy supply policy to ensure that Cornwall does not face blackouts at a time of severe weather • Recognition of the importance, time and resources to develop economic impact methodology after these events and capture intelligence during them to support resource allocation.
Physical Impacts
All of Cornwall was impacted in some way during the severe weather. This included flooding of property and land at Wadebridge Perranporth, Looe, St Ives, Bude, Portreath, Penzance, Fowey, Mevagissey and Penryn. Coastal impacts include damage to sea defences, beaches, piers, breakwaters, harbours and cliffs. The coast and cycle network paths damaged across Cornwall. Damage to the infrastructure was widespread full details are set out in the report.
Social Impacts
Throughout the winter there were a number of evacuations. In February residents in Porthtowan and Bude were advised to leave their houses because of predicted tidal surges and evacuation centres were opened. In Kingsand on 4 February residents were evacuated at the height of the storm as were residents in Portholland and Penzance on 14 February.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 5
Financial Impacts
Coastal assets: Most of the damage occurred at times of Spring Tides. In the periods between Spring Tides, particularly during mid-January and mid-February significant interim repair works were undertaken to protect life and property and to minimise further damage.
Highway Infrastructure: Over the course of the winter significant water related damage occurred on the main (A & B) road network, this continuous wet weather exacerbated deterioration already present due to the weather in previous winters. In addition to this general deterioration there have been a number of catastrophic failures of infrastructure on the main road network most notably the wash-out and collapse of a number of sections of the B3247 between Hessenford and Seaton. This winter there have been a number of incidents which have resulted in storm damage to roads in coastal locations most notably at St Mawes and Coverack.
Rail network: Branch lines in Cornwall were affected with the flooding. This was mostly for periods of a day rather than any extended period of time.
South West Coastal Path: The South West Coast Path (SWCP) in Cornwall is a major tourism and leisure asset and is used by millions of residents and visitors each year. It was recently rated as one of the top walks to be found anywhere in the world by Lonely Planet.
Green Infrastructure: Cornwall has over 4,000km of Public Rights of Way, 110 Countryside Sites and over 130km of recreational multi use trails. These play an important role in regard to the health and wellbeing of local communities and the tourism of Cornwall.
Government Support
A number of different support schemes were announced by Government at various stages during the storms. The main strands of support were:
Severe Weather Recovery Scheme
To date Cornwall has received:
• £113k grant from the community fund • £10.7m severe weather grant • £4.3m grant from the “Pothole Fund” • £8.4m from the Environment Agency
Council Tax / Business Rate Relief
To date there has been the following uptake:
• Council Tax – 35 Awards totalling £10,147.29 • Business Rate Relief – 38 awards totalling £253,634.14
Business Support Scheme
Cornwall Council was awarded £330K from Government to deliver the Business Support Scheme. To date 17 awards totalling £122K have been made with £180K worth of claims being assessed.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 6
Key Recommendations
As the government recognises in the “Transport Resilience Review - A review of the resilience of the transport network to extreme weather” published in July 2014 it is clear that climate change is happening and that the frequency and severity of severe weather events such as those experienced in 2013 /14 is increasing. It is therefore essential that all organisations at a national, regional and local level work together to maximise the use of all available resources to deal with events as they arise but more important to build improved future resilience. It is also important to recognise that as well as the obvious damage to infrastructure these events have a significant social, economic and environmental impact in both the short and long term. The events also highlighted the fragility and vulnerability of infrastructure where “single points of failure” caused significant issues regionally and locally.
The key recommendations therefore are
1. Change to the current funding models for Flood Defence work as the Partnership Funding model does not work in rural and dispersed communities with a predominance of micro- businesses.
2. That partners at a local and community level continue to work together to deal with events and also build future resilience
3. To work with our partners as in 2. but to also work with the other Local Authorities in the peninsula to provide a stronger argument to Government.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 7
Impact of Severe Weather – Winter 2014
The following impacts mitigations, both those implemented so far and with potential for future actions have been identified:
Reference Descriptor Category Impact Mitigation Lead
Repairs programmed to be undertaken at 67 locations across Cornwall with Coast Protection Damage at multiple sites central Government funding. 2.1.1 / 2.4.1 Features / Major including third party owned Cornwall Council
Beaches and managed locations Long term requires changes to funding mechanism to facilitate more spending Prioritised repair programme in 2.1.7 Coast Path Major Damage at many locations. development with some Coastal Cornwall Council Communities Fund support Prioritised repair programme in Maritime Damage at many CC and Cornwall Council / 2.1.5 Major development with significant Facilities privately owned harbours Private Owners government funding
Impacts still showing July Support to businesses and ongoing 2.3.1 Tourism Major Visit Cornwall 2014 media campaigns Damage at multiple locations ranging from individual Repairs being undertaken with benefit 2.1.2 / 2.1.3 Highways Significant Cornwall Council potholes to coastal road of central Government funding failures Railway to Cornwall cut off at Network Rail repairs and strengthening Dawlish plus localised damage at Dawlish complete by early April resulting in disruption to both 2.1.4 Rail Significant 2014. Further strengthening works Network Rail local and national services and planned 2014. significant reduction in Additional routes being investigated passengers.
People / Significant impact in a number Continued programme of ongoing 2.2.1 / 2.2.3 Significant Cornwall Council Property of communities support
Financial Number of support schemes Cornwall Council / 2.2.4 Significant Continued provision of support Support available CDC
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 8
Reference Descriptor Category Impact Mitigation Lead
Significant impact in Newlyn Continued provision of support 2.3.4 Fishing Significant CDC and Looe including funding from government
Development of Heritage Asset 2.1.9 Heritage Assets Notable Impact across Cornwall Cornwall Council Partnerships to expedite repairs.
Power / 2.1.11 Communications Notable Impact across Cornwall No additional measures identified Various Infrastructure Event used as spring-board to 2.2.2 / 2.2.6 Community Impact in small communities Notable encourage communities to develop Various / 2.2.7 Resilience across Cornwall Community Emergency Plans
Retail and Particularly in Penzance, 2.3.2 / 2.3.3 Notable No additional measures identified CDC Manufacturing Perranporth and Looe
Various initiatives underway to pilot 2.4.4 Run-off Notable Countywide work to reduce impact of agricultural Various run-off
Green Damage across Cornwall to 2.1.8 Notable No additional measures identified Cornwall Council Infrastructure the PROW network
Limited impact at present but Health community aware of potential 2.2.5 Health Minor NHS England may increase in long term for long term health issues
Water / sewage 2.1.10 Minor Limited No additional measures identified Various assets
2.1.12 Public Buildings Minor Limited No additional measures identified Various
Wildlife / water 2.4.2 / 2.4.3 ecology / Minor Limited No additional measures identified Various / 2.4.5 Geology
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 9
1. Introduction and Timeline
1.1 From December 2013 to March 2014 Cornwall experienced a particularly prolonged period of severe storm weather; i.e. heavy rains, high winds which on occasion coincided with spring tides and storm surges. The main incidents were:
1.2 23 December 2013: – Surface run-off flooding in mid Cornwall. Impacts included:
• Property flooding around Truro including Malpas and Kea
1.3 25 – 26 December 2013: Major landslip in Calstock. The impact included:
• Properties evacuated • No through road cut off • Properties and holiday cottages cut off and cars trapped • Issues around fuel delivery and emergency service access
1.4 3 January – 6 January 2014 – Coastal damage accentuated by high tides / storm surges. Impacts included:
• Waves in Newquay breaking over the Blue Reef Aquarium (attraction) and damage to sea wall • Properties flooded – Penzance • Roads closed due to rivers bursting banks at Lerryn, Newquay and Tresillian • Localised flooding in Looe, Mevagissey, Bude, Flushing, Hayle, Polperro, Fowey, Perranporth, Wadebridge, Porth, Seaton, Portreath, St. Ives • Rail line closed between Liskeard and Looe • Portreath – partial collapse of the Eastern Breakwater, damage to the Finger Pier and collapse of the Forward Observation Hut. • Fistral Beach, Newquay – loss of sand, especially in front of the RNLI and Fistral Surf Centre. • Kingsands – cracking being monitored and a possible sewage leak • Seaton – car park wall undermined by the sea.
1.5 8 January – 3 February 2014 – damage assessed and interim repair undertaken including
• Seaton • Newquay • Penzance
Public engagement work and business support work was undertaken in Looe, Penzance and Perranporth
1.6 1 - 7 February 2014 – Severe coastal damage accentuated by strong winds, high tides and storm surges. Impacts included:
• Localised flooding in Wadebridge, Perranporth, Looe, St. Ives, Bude, Portreath, Penzance, Swanpool, Flushing, Fowey, Mevagissey and Penryn • Buildings and infrastructure damage – damage to road in St Mawes; part of the sea wall collapsedat Trevone; damage to the promenade near Blue Reef Aquarium, Newquay; the Clock Tower at Kingsands undermined by the sea.
Outside of Cornwall there was a major breach to the sea wall at Dawlish and rail services linking the far south west to the rest of the country were suspended for eight weeks.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 10
1.13 14 February 2014 – Storm and tidal flooding accentuated by storm surges. Impacts included
• Significant damage in Mounts Bay between St Michaels Mount across the Long Rock frontage, Penzance and to Newlyn • Penzance station flooded and signalling damaged • More damage in Kingsand • Properties evacuated in East Portholland • Coast and cycle network path damaged in Penzance and access restricted
1.16 2 - 5 March 2014 – further storms coinciding with high tides
• Damage to sea defences at Eastern Green, Penzance
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 11
2. Impact Assessment
2.1 Key Infrastructure Impacts
2.1.1 Coast Protection Assets
During the severe weather coast protection assets, both those owned by Cornwall Council and those privately owned, were damaged all around the Cornish Coast. The most significant damage was:
• Boscastle: damage to the harbour wall. • Bude: partial collapse of training wall and damage to breakwater • Kingsand: severe damage in and around historic Clock Tower. • Lamorna: significant damage to pier • Looe: damage to the harbour walls. • Mullion: damage to harbour • Newquay: damage to buildings and access points at Fistral. Breach to road and promenade at Towan and damage within Newquay Harbour. • Penzance: major breach at Eastern Green, breach to Lighthouse Pier and adjacent to rail line at Long Rock and to the Lido at the Jubilee Swimming Pool. Damage to the Penzance Promenade and a large breach on Newlyn Green including part of the Coast Path. • Perranporth: major loss of sand threatening beachside properties e.g. Watering Hole • Porthleven: damage to storm defences leading to further damage with several fishing boats being sunk in the harbour. • Portreath: severe damage to historic harbour and considerable fear of full breach. • Seaton: loss of wall and significant changes to beach profile and flow of river. • St Ives: major change in beach profile at Porthmeor resulting in damage to property. Damage to walkways and in the Harbour area including important heritage assets. • St Michaels Mount: Damage to the harbour wall, causeway and coastal defences.
Most of the damage occurred at times of Spring Tides. In the periods between Spring Tides, particularly during mid-January and mid-February significant interim repair works were undertaken to protect life and property and to minimise further damage.
Case Study 1 – Penzance
Significant damage was experienced in the Penzance area on two key occasions, the first in the storms at the beginning of January and again on the evening high tide of the 14 February. During the January event damage occurred to the sea defences on Long Rock threatening the Penzance/Paddington main railway line, the A30(T) some 60 residential properties and a large commercial area, at Penzance Harbour and causing a breach in the sea wall at Newlyn Green damaging the South West Coast Path, a cycle route and damaging utility infrastructure. The Council commenced “at risk” repairs to reinforce the sea defences at Long Rock and undertook temporary works on Newlyn Green and the Harbour. However the most severe damage occurred on the 14 February when extensive damage occurred when a SSE gale coincided with a high tide during the early evening. As well as a number of people needing to be evacuated from their properties, damage included:
• coastal defences, the tidal causeway and the Harbour Wall at St Michaels Mount, • further damage to the coastal defences and South West Coast Path at Long Rock and Eastern Green, • a breached defence at Chyandour putting the main railway line out of action for four weeks, • extensive damage to the Lighthouse Pier endangering the supply route to the Isles of Scilly, • structural damage to the iconic art deco Jubilee Swimming Pool • flooding to 15+ properties and commercial premises along the Penzance Promenade • significant damage to the Penzance Promenade • a breach to the coastal defence wall at Newlyn Green cutting off cycling and walking links
The damage repair bill for this area alone could be in excess of £5 million. Interim repairs commenced in January and these undoubtedly resulted in preventing more extensive damage
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 12 occurring. in the February and March storms. Primary repairs, principally undertaken by CORMAC, have been completed along the Chyandour, Long Rock and Eastern Green coastal defences and at Penzance Harbour and are well under way on the Promenade and Newlyn Green. It is anticipated that most repairs will be completed by 1 October 2014.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
Extensive damage at multiple sites across Cornwall from Bude to Lands End to Kingsand. Interim repairs were undertaken at the most significant locations including Penzance Harbour, Long Rock/Eastern Green and locations in and around Newquay during January 2014. There was immediate impact on cycling and walking, out of season tourism and preparation for Easter and the summer season. Permanent repair programme is now being undertaken, funded by Environment Agency managed Government grant assistance and works are required to before winter 2014.
2.1.2 Highway Infrastructure – Strategic Network Incidents
Cornwall has suffered heavy rainfall and major flooding in four of the last five winters which in addition to specific incidents which have affected the highway at:
• Calstock (2013): landslide cutting off 30 houses (cost £400k) • Coverack (2014): closure of road due to sea wall collapse (cost £245k) • Looe (2013): landslides at St Martins Hill / Sandplace road (cost £440k) • Looe (2014): landslide at St Martins Hill resulting in loss of life (cost £410k) • Lostwithiel (2009): damage to historic bridge (Cost £<10k) • Newquay (2014): breach of access to Towan Beach (Cost £50k) • Seaton – Downderry (2012): significant number of landslides ( cost £1,940k) • St Just in Roseland (2013): landslide affecting the A3058 (cost £100k) • St Mawes (2014): damage to the road surface (cost £25k)
Over the course of the winter significant water related damage occurred on the main (A & B) road network, with the continuous wet weather exacerbating previous deterioration. In addition to this general deterioration there have been a number of catastrophic failures of infrastructure on the main road network most notably the collapse of a number of sections of the B3247 between Hessenford and Seaton. This winter there have been a number of incidents which have resulted in storm damage to roads in coastal locations most notably at St Mawes and Coverack.
Case Study 2 – Coverack A 20m section of the sea wall collapsed at Coverack on the 5th February, forcing the main road (B3294) into the village to be closed . This effectively cut the village in half meaning that people wanting to drive from, one side of the village to the other had to take a long diversionary route. Due to the number of services located immediately behind the exposed face within the highway (1 x BT fibre optic cable, 2 x SWW sewer mains and 1 x SWW water main), CORMAC placed 98 x 1 tonne sandbags in the hole on the 6th & 7th to protect it from the predicted larger storm on the 8th. These held until another storm on the 14th February. A further collapse of the wall occurred on the 21 st February. A temporary ramp onto the beach was constructed to allow access for large plant onto the beach to carry out the works. The exposed face was stabilised by the introduction of soil nailing between the 7 March and 24 March. This enabled the casting of a new mass concrete toe. With the concrete toe in place the mass concrete wall was cast until it reached its full height. In total over 300m3 of concrete was used in the construction of the new structure. The granite parapet posts were reinstated and new stainless steel railings installed to match the original, before the road was reopened to vehicles on the 16 May. Over 200m2 of masonry facing was then carried out between the 19 May and 5 June.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 13
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
There was damage to a cumulative length of 15 miles of A & B Road. Works to correct this damage will be funded from part of the £10.7m allocated by the Department for Transport (DfT) to Cornwall under a Severe Weather Recovery Scheme grant.
2.1.3 Deterioration of Highway Infrastructure
The effects of last five years have also resulted in a cumulative deterioration to the highway network with the current backlog of maintenance being in excess of £220m and rising at about £10m per annum. This deterioration manifests itself as potholes, blocked drainage and associated flooding. Poor drainage exacerbates and accelerates deterioration of the carriageway surface which in turn leads to the formation of potholes and other surface defects. As a result of the severe winter weather the DfT sought bids from Local Authorities for lengths of highways damaged over winter period. Cornwall Council submitted a bid detailing damage to 15 miles of Class A and Class B roads; 248 miles of Classified and Unclassified roads and 33 bridges, major drainage culverts and retaining walls.
Case Study 3 – Calstock
Following heavy rainfall towards the end of December 2013, a landslip occurred along a 16 metre length of Lower Kelly Road in Calstock. This effectively cut off over 30 properties and a number of local businesses and stranded over 40 vehicles.
The local geology was such that ground water levels were very high and, together with the lack of effective drainage behind the wall, it is thought that this caused the retaining wall to collapse. Works began on site within three weeks of the collapse to stabilise the remaining wall and secure the utility services in the locality. Re construction works commenced on 3 February 2014 under a full road closure. The retaining wall was rebuilt as a mass concrete structure incorporating measures to deal with the ground water. Weep holes were also installed in the remaining wall to ensure than an effective drainage system along the length of the whole wall.
Close liaison with the local residents by the Localism team, local member and Calstock Parish Council was maintained ensuring that any deliveries to the isolated residents including deliveries of domestic heating oil. These were co-ordinated by the on-site team to minimise any disruption. On 15 January Calstock received national media attention when the Royal Marines using a landing craft helped evacuate the stranded vehicles. The road was re-opened on 22 May 2014 with masonry facing works finished on 30 June 2014.
Summary Impacts and Mitigations
There was cumulative damage to 248 miles of C & U roads and 33 major structures. DfT funding of £10.7m Severe Weather Recovery Scheme grant and a further £4.3m grant from the “Pothole Fund” was secured to undertake repairs.
The work Cornwall Council has done to develop a robust Asset Management Plan which assists in using our limited resources to manage our assets, was commended in the report “Transport Resilience Review A Review of the resilience of the transport network to extreme weather event” DfT July 2014.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 14
2.1.4 Rail Network
During the 2013 /14 winter there were a number of incidents in Cornwall that affected the mainline and a number of the branch lines. This included flooding, landslides, fallen trees and damage to signalling from lightning strikes.
Outside of Cornwall the breach of the main rail line at Dawlish on 5 February had a significant impact to main line services, meaning that there were no through trains from Penzance to Paddington including the overnight sleeper for over 8 weeks. Mainline through services did not resume until 4 April 2014. Mitigation included extra flights Newquay - London and a bus service from Bodmin Parkway to Tiverton Parkway.
Services within Cornwall remained generally unaffected. However incidents at Penzance with the loss of part of the sea wall, damage to signal equipment and the track being undermined meant that for four weeks the station was closed and a bus service ran to and from St Erth.
Branch lines were also intermittingly affected with the flooding. This was mostly for periods of a day rather than any extended period of time. The main lines that were affected were the Newquay Branch line, Griggs level crossing and the Liskeard - Looe Branch line. When problems occurred replacement bus services were often put in place but this often caused journey delays. The expected cost of long- term repairs to the Liskeard - Looe branch line is expected to be £3.0 - 4.0m. Commercial railway traffic on the Par Branch line affected china clay operations. Fortunately IMERYS had lorries that could be used to back up the service loss but this meant that over 9,000 tonnes of freight was moved from rail to road at additional cost and impact on the highway network.
Since the spring, Network Rail has started to examine alternative rail routes around Dartmoor to link Exeter with Plymouth and Cornwall. Initial reports indicate that a new route is cost prohibitive. However, further strengthening works at Dawlish have been confirmed for the end of 2014 and the government have recently announced further investment in the railway infrastructure in Cornwall through the Growth Deal.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
The damage to the Railway at Dawlish provided the biggest challenge for Cornwall with the loss of any direct trains into and out of Cornwall for over eight weeks. First Great Western estimated that passenger numbers to Devon and Cornwall over this period were down by two-thirds. Rail companies were compensated around £16m for the loss of revenue for the period. 75% of local businesses reported an impact as a result of the loss of the rail link.
The Dawlish area that was damaged has been repaired but ongoing issues remain with this section of the track in poor weather conditions causing delays by the sea overtopping the sea wall. Studies are now underway to look at options for alternative routes between Exeter, Plymouth and Cornwall.
2.1.5 Air
During the severe weather Newquay Cornwall Airport kept the county moving for passengers wishing to commute in and out of the South West to London and further afield. With the closure of the rail lines at Dawlish and Lands’ End Airport being forced to close (due to a water logged runway) for three months, it was extremely positive that the airport continued to stay open and operated as usual. During February the number of daily flights to London Gatwick doubled to six, which resulted in an additional 4500 seats becoming available. During early March Flybe continued to operate with a larger aircraft to both Gatwick and Manchester which offered people travelling to and from Cornwall the confidence that it was business as usual. During the disruption passenger numbers to London Gatwick increased by 90%. Newquay Cornwall Airport, Cornwall Council, DFT, London Gatwick and Flybe all worked together during these months, to offer a travel option to those who needed it.
During the height of the storms where all links to the Isle of Scilly were not operating the health community were working with 771 Squadron at Culdrose to pick up emergency cases. It was used on at least one occasion. Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 15
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
During this period Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQA) showed its critical strategic importance as an alternative means of connectivity between Cornwall and the rest of the country; and the importance of having complimentary strategic transport networks. NQA also has a value for critical connectivity with the Isles of Scilly at times of storms and bad weather now that the heliport at Penzance no longer exists, although additional connectivity between Penzance and the Islands is currently being discussed.
The health community are also working to improve the process for delivering blood to / from the Isle of Scilly by air.
2.1.6.1 Maritime facilities
A number of ports and harbours, many of them owned by Cornwall Council, suffered storm damage in January and February 2014. The worst hit harbours were Portreath, Penzance, Portwrinkle and Bude with a lesser amount at St Ives, Truro and Newquay. Damage to privately owned harbours include St Mawes, Mullion, Par, Mousehole and Lamorna which as well as being key martime assets contribute significantly as part of the tourism experience.
Interim repair work was governed by both the weather conditions and tidal constraints. In addition, and specifically in the case of Penzance and Portreath, diving teams had to be brought in to recover missing granite blocks from the damaged structures in order to repair them.
Secondary damage was also caused in some of the harbours by items being picked up by the sea and thrown against other structures. The following lists the damage and shows the extent of the damage.
Bude Harbour
• Partial collapse of Training Wall adjacent to sea lock. • Loss of stones from parts of the Breakwater • Collapse of seaward section of Breakwater
The training wall collapse raised concerns about the sea lock. Any breaches of the breakwater were immediately tackled because if not then the damage would become far greater and more costly as well as the possibility of breaching and therefore affecting other structures behind it. The repairs on the seaward side of the breakwater had to be done quickly because they also posed a danger to the public whereby people could fall through the gaps or crawl into them.
Penzance Harbour
• Breach of Lighthouse Pier • Fresh water supply was lost, recovery of granite blocks from harbour, various electrical repairs and resetting of cobbles on South Pier. Secondary damage at Penzance – fresh water break tank housing damaged.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 16
Repair work was undertaken immediately to reduce risk of further damage but also because of concerns about the start of the spring season and the Scillonian III, the vital link to the Isles of Scilly being able to dock. Secondary damage meant that existing electrical and water systems also had to be repaired.
Newquay Harbour
• Damage to steps, capping and slipway
Portwrinkle
• General damage to harbour structures
Portreath Harbour
Damage to the Finger Pier, including loss of the Forward Observation Hut, loss of handrails and security fencing which are “Listed” features and within a World Heritage Site. At one point there were real concerns that the Eastern Breakwater might have failed which could have led to a catastrophic event in the village.
St Ives Harbour
• Re-pointing of the seaward end of Smeaton’s Pier in order to stop wave damage to the core • Replacement handrails
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
Ports and harbours across Cornwall suffered varying degrees of damage. Interim repair work in January and February significantly reduced the risk of further and more major damage.
In August 2014 the British Ports Association working with the Department for Transport announced £1,116k funding support for damaged ports in Cornwall:
• Porthleven Harbour £501k • Portreath Harbour £263k • Penzance Harbour £149k • Portwrinkle Harbour £115k • Par Harbour £90k • Bude Harbour £49k • Mousehole Harbour £20k • St Ives Harbour £7k • Newquay Harbour £3k
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 17
2.1.6.2 Maritime Links
Isle of Scilly
During the winter the main link between Cornwall and Isles of Scilly had real issues. During the winter period the passenger ferry Scillonian III does not operate which makes the Isles of Scilly dependant on the cargo vessel the Gry Maritha for the transport of food and other essential supplies.
During the period of bad weather during late December the Quay at St Marys’ that the Gry Maritha uses was damaged and for a period of 4 days it could not dock which left the Isles without supplies other than items delivered by air. The main concern area was medical supplies and samples going to hospital for analysis, particularly hitting the elderly residents and causing delays in medical treatment.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
Generally the Isles of Scilly can sustain a period without supplies, but anything greater than 4 days is felt to be a major issue. Cornwall Tactical Control Group was aware of this situation and it was closely monitored.
Tamar Bridge / Torpoint Ferry
The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint ferries provide essential links between South East Cornwall and Plymouth, particularly for commuters and school children. The severe weather had a major impact on the Torpoint ferry. Lost crossings were as follows:
DATE DAY REASON CROSSINGS LOST 30/12/2013 MON High Winds 16 31/12/2013 TUES High Winds 4 03/01/2013 FRI Tidal surge 8 03/02/2014 MON High Winds 6 07/02/2014 FRI Tidal Surge 6 14/02/2014 FRI Tidal surge 8
Of these 26 were lost due to high winds preventing crews boarding moored up ferries at start of shifts and 22 were lost due to three instances of tidal surges at Devonport preventing ferries loading/unloading. During the period in question the ferries were scheduled to complete 9044 crossings, the total loss of 48 represented 0.53% of these crossings.
In addition to this the Tamar Bridge had either a central lane closure and/or closed to high sided vehicles for over 80 hours between 27 October 2013 and 28 February 2014 i.e. nearly 3 ½ days out of 124 or over 3%. This disruption had a significant impact on commerce. Over the last 10 years there has been growing disruption to the Tamar Bridge as a result of strong winds as shown below:
Period Total Restrictions ( 1 Aug – 31 July) (Hr:min) 2004/05 22:18 2005/06 05:36 2006/07 11:33 2007/08 11:55 2008/09 03:20 2009/10 29:02 2010/11 00:00 2011/12 20:16 2012/13 30:56 2013/14 92:50 Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 18
Other Maritime links
Other maritime and river links in Cornwall were also affected. The King Harry vehicle ferry (Philleigh – Feock) suffered cancellations and on one occasion the lifeboat was called to help crew get ashore. The Bodinnick vehicle ferry (Fowey – Polruan) and the St Mawes – Falmouth passenger ferry were all disrupted because of the severe weather or extremely high / low spring tides.
Summary Impacts and Mitigations
In relation to the Torpoint Ferry without extensive investment in raising the slipways there is little that can be done about the loss of crossings due to tidal surges. However, the issue with transfer of crew during high winds has been addressed by a more pro-active use of the Tamar Bridge specific weather forecast and the establishment of a call-out arrangement using a locally based heavy-duty Rigid Inflatable Boat and crew to take out and recover crew from the moored up ferries.
2.1.7 South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path (SWCP) in Cornwall is a major tourism and leisure asset and is used by millions of residents and visitors each year. It was recently rated as one of the top walks to be found anywhere in the world by Lonely Planet and voted Britain’s best walking route by the readers of the Walk Magazine (National Trail Website June 2014). From an economic stance, research in January 2014, show that walkers using South West Coast Path Trail spent around £436M during 2012, an increase of almost 15% in the past three years. The value of the Coast Path within Cornwall has been estimated at over £180.0m per annum. The South West Coast Path has suffered severe damage in the last two winters which cumulatively have had a massive impact. The main locations where storm damage has impacted on the South West Coast path network are set out in Appendix 1.
As the Highway Authority, Cornwall Council is responsible for the maintenance of the coast path. On the section it owns the National Trust manages the coast path, on behalf of Cornwall Council. Capital funding was allocated from within Cornwall Council to deal with the storm damage to the coast path from 12/13 and 13/14 and the South west Coast Partnership (covering Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset) has received £1,114k from the DCLG Coastal Communities Fund for repair and improvements including 32 urgent repairs. However no funding has been allocated to deal with the damage from the storms of 13/14. This has resulted in significant closures and temporary diversions whilst funding is sort to carry out the necessary works.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
The damage to the South West Coast Path from the 13/14 storms in Cornwall is valued at £360k.
The South West Coast Path plays an important role within the tourism economy of Cornwall and the South West. Closures and diversions have had a significant impact on businesses that rely on the coast path and the surrounding rights of way network for their visitors. The role of coastal infrastructure is recognised as a critical element of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Growth Deal ask to Government, to ensure long term sustainability to enable economic growth. 55% of visitors to Cornwall visit coastal areas, more than any other of the four counties in the far South West. 68% of their spend goes to these coastal areas (over £170.0m) and almost 660,000 visitors stayed in Cornish coastal areas in 2012.
In August 2014, DCLG as part of the Coastal Communities Fund allocated £1,114k to the South West Coast Path Partnership (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset) for repair and improvements including 32 urgent repairs.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 19
2.1.8 Green Infrastructure
Cornwall has over 4,000km of Public Rights of Way, 110 Countryside Sites and over 130km of recreational multi use trails. These play an important role in regard to the health and wellbeing of local communities and the tourism of Cornwall. The winter caused significant damage to the green infrastructure network across Cornwall.
The main locations where storm damage has impacted on the Green Infrastructure are set out in Appendix 2.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
The storms resulted in significant damage to Cornwall’s Public Rights of Way and multi-use trail network. This has had a direct effect on local communities and visitors to Cornwall. There is currently no additional capital funding allocated to deal with the damage from 2013/14.
2.1.9 Heritage Assets
This winter saw significant structural damage to a large number of historic assets. This included listed harbours, such as Mullion, Portwrinkle, Porthleven and Lamorna; to iconic designated features such as Bude Sea Pool, the Grade II listed Jubilee Pool and sea wall in Penzance, Kingsand Institute and Clock Tower, and the causeway across to St Michael’s Mount.
Severe damage was also caused to features important to the UNESCO World Heritage Site and most principally to the harbour at Portreath. Officers of the World Heritage Site team within Economic Development and Culture were able to liaise with maritime and conservation colleagues across the Council to ensure the repairs instigated were to a high standard and commensurate with the harbour’s international status as a feature of Outstanding Universal Value. The recent damage has also been reported to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and was recently presented at the 38 th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar, and will remain a subject of scrutiny. Safeguarding the internationally important landscape assets is a significant strand of the World Heritage Site team’s work, which in turn contributes to the economy of Cornwall. Indeed, the performance of the team in this regard was particularly stressed within a recent UK National Commission for UNESCO report: ‘Wider value of UNESCO to the UK 2012-13’. http://www.unesco.org.uk/widervalue
In addition to the damage to man-made assets a submerged peat deposits were exposed at Mounts Bay, exposing them to damage and desiccation, at least one WWI submarine was exposed on the North Coast and significant damage was done to the Iron Age hill fort, a Scheduled Monument, at Trevelgue Head, Newquay.
The Council has developed considerable expertise in responding to such events and to ensure that the historic significance of damaged structures is protected and retained.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
Protection, enhancement and interpretation of historic assets are a vital element of telling the story of Cornwall and supporting major new opportunities for interpretation (such as Kresen Kernow), the Cornish Heritage Centre in Redruth. This will directly deliver jobs and deliver more economic benefit in terms of interpretation and discovery, leading to a more sustainable model of tourism. However, these assets need to be protected and supported against severe weather and climate change.
In August 2014, DCLG as part of the Coastal Communities Fund allocated £1,950k to repair and re- launch the Jubilee Pool in Penzance which is a nationally recognised heritage asset that also provides local health and wellbeing benefits. Cornwall Council also contributed £500k with further contributions coming from Penzance Town Council and the Friends of Jubilee Pool.
In relation to Mullion Harbour, Cornwall Council is working with National Trust to develop a Heritage Asset Partnership which will ensure agreed specifications are in place prior to any damage taking place to expedite repairs if and when damage occurs in the future. Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 20
Case Study 4 – Kingsand Clock Tower and Institute
A section of coast protection, masonry wall and wave return in Kingsand was lost during the initial storm event in February 2014. As a result the Kingsand Clock Tower and Kingsand Institute building were exposed to the sea and suffered extensive damage. They are both Grade 2 listed buildings within a Conservation area. The event attracted national media attention and considerable local concern. A series of public meetings were organised to assist in the recovery process and keep residents informed of Cornwall Councils proposed program of coast defence repairs.
The buildings insurance company responsible for the Institute initiated and repaired the institute up to ground floor level and will undertake repairs to the upper floors in due course. Cornwall Council provided assistance to the Institute Trustees during this phase. The building was made safe using temporary supports following which the Institute Trustees engaged professional advice to design and project manage the repairs.
During the period when the building repairs were being undertaken Cornwall Council consulted with the EA and other partners with a view to commencing coast protection repairs immediately following their completion. Initial work focussed on the structural repairs to the remaining coastal defence asset as a number of fractures to the remains of the foundation and adjacent structures were identified and deemed to be urgent.
Works are now complete and the building has been handed back to the Institute for completion of repairs to the building which stands above the coastal defences.
2.1.10 Flood Protection, Water Supply and Sewage Assets
Environment Agency owned and operated assets
During the winter the Devon & Cornwall Asset Performance and MEICA teams carried out several post event asset inspections to monitor the integrity of the flood defences. The prolonged nationwide event also prompted the Agency to request military assistance.
Though the storms were focused on the coast, some fluvial assets were also affected by high river flows and tidal assets by repeated loading. The list below details the assets that were identified as being affected. Some of these assets are owned by a third party but the Environment Agency took an active role in assisting with the repair using its discretionary powers.
• Flood Bank on the Par river • Copperhouse (Hayle) tidal gate • Padstow tidal gate • Polperro tidal gate • Bude Flood Alleviation Scheme raised defences • Helston Flood Alleviation Scheme & Loe Bar outlet culvert and associated structures. • Mawgan Porth fluvial defences • Lower Tamar embankments, including Calstock flood bank • Raised defences at Angarrack .
In addition to the affected flood defences several watercourses have received extra sediment leading to restrictions in conveyance at some locations. Plans to dredge these particular areas and recover the affected assets are underway.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 21
Cornwall Council owned or operated flood defences
During the successive severe tidal events that hit the counties coastline, the following assets owned and/or operated by Cornwall Council were impacted:
• Bude Neet • Eastern Green Coastal Defence • Portreath Finger Pier • Portreath Harbour Wall • Fistral Surf Centre Defences • Seaton Beach Coastal Defences • Looe Harbour Wall • Newlyn to Wherrytown Sea Wall • Penzance – Promenade • St Mawes Sea Wall • Gorran Haven Sea Wall
Flood defence projects
In 2011, the Government introduced a new approach to funding projects in England that reduced flood and coastal erosion risks. This new policy, Flood and Coastal Erosion Resilience Partnership Funding, is more commonly called Partnership Funding and works on the basis that central government funding is supplemented by external investment from other organisations and businesses.
Partnership Funding presents a very unique challenge for communities across Cornwall. The flood risks to our towns and villages are significant and the cost of alleviation schemes to tackle these are high. However, Cornwall’s economy and the prominence of small and medium size businesses means there’s very limited opportunity for viable investment by partners.
Since Partnership Funding was introduced, no flood defence projects in Cornwall have come close to meeting the funding model resulting in no investment. Without a change to the funding model for Cornwall, the impact upon Cornwall’s economy and environment could be significant.
The LGA (Local Government Association) has recognised that this is a wider problem resulting in rural and dispersed areas being unable to compete for funding.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
Flood defence assets on the coast and inland have been impacted during the winter. The Environment Agency owned or operated structures have been surveyed and a prioritised programme of repairs is now underway.
Sewage Assets, Mains Water and potable drinking supplies
South West Water Waste Water Services (WWS) provides services to Cornwall, Devon and small areas within Dorset and Somerset. Asset Areas are sub-divided into 6 distinct zones. Cornwall has three Asset Areas;
Area 1 – West of a line between Trevose Head/Gorran Haven Area 2 – West of line between Bude/Seaton to Area 1 boundary Area 3 (part) – West of R. Tamar including Rame Peninsula and Saltash to Area 2 Boundary
The range of typical problems caused by adverse weather included:
• Power outages caused by gale-force winds • Power outages caused by trees falling on power lines • Heavy sustained and intense rainfall causing flooding to access roads • Fallen trees barring access to WWS sites • High spring tides with increased levels caused by low pressure weather systems Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 22
• causing sea water influx to Sewage Pumping Station (SPS) and Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW) • Surface water run-off from highways and agricultural land • Large waves causing damage to sewerage infrastructure • Some sewerage pumps overwhelmed causing sewerage outflow e.g. Calenick
Both large and small scale impacts are noted below.
Area 1:
• Praze-an-Beeble WwTW: loss of monitoring communications from site • Helford WwTW: power outage problems on site restoration • Coverack WwTW - power outage problems on site restoration and fallen tree across access track restricted access • Tregaseal WwTW (St Just, Penwith: power outage problems • Veryan WwTW: power outage problems • St Mawes WwTW: power outage problems • Porthallow SPS: high Voltage power failure caused the wet well to flood. Power was restored to the SPS site within a short period of time • Ponjeravah SPS (Constantine): high Voltage power failure caused the wet well to spill and power was restored within a short period of time. • Porthleven Harbour gravity sewer: the harbour wall was damaged thereby damaging the gravity sewer.
Area 2:
• Scarletts Well WwTW (Bodmin): power outage caused site issues but works were powered by generator and mains power was quickly restored. • Lostwithiel WwTW: site power outage and tree fell across access road. Operator limited to access by foot due to exceptionally high tide. • Gorran Haven WwTW: power outages caused issues and flooding of the dry well. High tides also caused problems at the works. • St Teath WwTW: power outages at the works • Seaton and Downderry: A tree fell on the control room building causing damage, total communications failure causing remote visibility of the works to be lost. • Golant SPS: flooded dry well • Beaconside SPS: power failure • Polruan SPS: power failure • Gorranhaven SPS: flooded / no access possible • Nanstallon STW: inlet penstock failed • Golant SPS: pump failure • St Mabyn WwTW : power outage problems • Fowey WwTW : power outages • Pelynt WwTW: tree fell on the filter bed but removed the same day
Area 3 Part (Cornwall Area only)
• Kingsand/Cawsand: SPS was at a point of structural risk. Significant damage was sustained to the adjacent Clock Tower and surrounding domestic properties by large wave impact coupled with the very high tides.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
It should be noted that recovery from the damage sustained during the winter storms was generally rapid thereby minimising impacts .
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 23
2.1.11 Power and Communications Infrastructure
The severe weather played havoc with power and broadband network in the South west region, the worst hit being Western Power Distribution. Although damage occurred throughout the winter main damage was concentrated in three periods. Unfortunately no figures are available for Cornwall, but the figures for the South West region are
23 – 28 December 2013: 1,117 incidents and 57,784 customers were affected. 91.84% customers restored within three hours and 99.99% customers restored within 24 hours. During these periods in addition to additional staff being available, customers on the Priority Service Register e.g. with medical equipment were regularly monitored.
4 - 5 February 201: 1,256 incidents were dealt with and 67,192 customers were restored. The worst affected areas were Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, in particular coastal regions. All customers were restored within the Ofgen standard of 48 hours for this type of event. Approximately 43 customers were unfortunately off for more than 36 hours largely due to the volume of incidents occurring in a short space of time and also safety concerns due to some areas being inaccessible because of the high winds or flooding.
8 February 2014: 730 incidents were dealt with and 20,580 customers were restored. All customers were restored within 12 hours.
Renewable Energy
Adverse weather conditions can have a dramatic impact on renewable energy installations. High winds, especially when combined with heavy rain, snow and hail storms, along with localised flooding have the potential to cause disruption to both energy production and distribution. The level of exposure to weather risk individual energy facilities face can be reduced through a combination of initial equipment design, appropriate site location and adequate preparation by energy companies. There have been limited cases of weather related failures impacting renewables installations in the UK, however two notable examples are the fire at a wind turbine in North Ayrshire in 2011, as well as another turbine failure in Devon in October 2013, during severe storms.
Whilst no significant impact was caused to customers power supply as a result of either of these incidents, appropriate strategies need to be put in place in order to ensure consistency of supply during the type of extreme weather events, especially as these events are likely to become more prevalent. The resilience and reliability of the electricity system can be improved through developing a smarter, more decentralised, energy system. Investing in this transition to a decentralised smart grid can also increase the overall effectiveness of our energy system through increasing the efficiency of our energy use, delivering associated carbon reductions as well as the accompanying economic benefits.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
Cornwall has a growing number of home workers who rely on strong and consistent broadband connections. Some of the highest proportions are found in coastal areas (Padstow, St Ives, Looe, Penzance, Bude and Newquay). In total, there are over 40,000 people who work mainly or wholly from home in Cornwall. This includes important growth sectors of ICT/media and design.
2.1.12 Public Buildings and Property
There was some damage to property and public buildings but no major incidents. The Building Control service was called to a number of sites to inspect buildings but all were structurally sound.
Summary of Impacts and Mitigations
No significant impacts identified or mitigation required.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 24
2.2 Key Social Impacts and Mitigations
2.2.1 Evacuations and Flooded Properties
Throughout the winter there were a limited number of evacuations. In February residents in Porthtowan and Bude were advised to leave their houses because of predicted tidal surges and evacuation centres were opened, however most people chose to remain at home. In Kingsand 5 February a number of residents were evacuated at the height of the storm as were residents in Portholland and Penzance 14 February.
The voluntary sector in Cornwall are well organised and form a key part of recovery works and in building future resilience. During the winter volunteers from local Time Banks were used to help those directly affected by the flooding with some of the clean ups. Often, individuals faced with the daunting task of picking up the pieces alone are overwhelmed with the scale of the challenge. Just having a friendly face to pop in and share the task can make all the difference. There was also an overwhelming need for people to tell their story. They wanted someone to listen and this is an occasion when volunteers can, and did, come into their own – having time to sit down over a cup of tea and just listen as flood victims talked about their experience .
Case Study 5 - Kingsand
On the morning of Tuesday 4 th February a slight shift in wind to the SE direction saw huge seas coming directly into Kingsand. During the height of the storm, local councillor George Trubody worked with the emergency services including Coastguard, Ambulance, Fire and Police services to help evacuate residents. The storm left 5 resident homes severely damaged with people having to move out of their properties. Numerous others were damaged, with shutters smashed and doors broken. One resident received hospital treatment when the sea crashed through his front door knocking him and his son off their feet.
The Parish Council led on boarding up homes that had been affected by the storms and Cornwall Council held a drop-in session for residents to advice on services. Properties are now finally being restored and families have been able to return home, however a number of businesses have said their bookings were affected by the repair works.
The local Councillor has been recognised as a local Hero for his heroic attempts to warn and rescue people from their property.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
In summary the number of people who had to be evacuated was low but nonetheless the experience of those who were evacuated, particularly in Kingsand will stay with them for a long time. Partners will continue to provide support to these people.
2.2.2 Work by volunteers, community groups and Town and Parish Councils
Cornwall is well prepared for community action in times of crisis. Following the floods in 2010 the Cornwall Community Flood Forum was established and the forum works to build community resilience across Cornwall by developing training programmes and initiatives such as Flood Wardens who are trained teams of volunteers and who were able to assist the statutory services at times when flooding was at its worst. In addition to this volunteers from Volunteer Cornwall’s ‘Winter Friends’ scheme were deployed for a variety of tasks during these floods. These included drain clearing ahead of forecast storms; checking on older or vulnerable residents during the worst of the weather; help with shopping and obtaining supplies for those unable to get out; filling sandbags to protect at-risk properties in Perranporth and cleaning the beaches after the storms had passed to emphasise the message that Cornwall was open for business. In short, volunteers from all walks of life gave up their time freely to help their communities and this sense of ‘in it together’ is what we need to build on to strengthen the resilience of all our communities for whatever challenges come along in the future.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 25
In relation to supporting local communities both Cornwall Council and the Environment Agency encourage householders and local communities to hold their own supply of sandbags as it is not a statutory requirement to supply them.
Summary Impacts and Mitigations
It is clear that the impact of the severe weather in communities across Cornwall was mitigated to some degree by swift and decisive local action with statutory agencies, town and Parish Councils, community groups and volunteers all working together. In many instances existing Community Emergency plans were activated and as a result of the storms many communities are now looking to develop and/or review a Community Emergency Plan.
2.2.3 Local Support to Victims
Volunteers were also used in the aftermath of the floods to help people to get back on their feet. From the volunteers who raised funds for the Cornwall Community Foundation Flood Fund to those who offered furniture and household goods for those affected. We also used volunteers to assist people in filling in application forms for assistance and this is something we are keen to develop further in the coming months. The notion of good neighbourliness is a simple one but can make a huge difference to someone struggling to cope with the worst of the winter storms. Just having someone say “I can help you with that” made a big difference to people beyond the monetary value of the aid offered.
On top of this direct support a fund set up by Cornwall Community Foundation to support local victims has raised nearly £200k to date.
Summary Impact and Mitigations
Cornwall’s strong sense of identity has come into its own because of the severe weather. A network of community and voluntary support is evolving but this will need to be backed up by a stronger skills set that can complement intervention by Statutory Agencies where appropriate. Work on this is happening through the Cornwall Community Flood Forum and the Cornwall multi-agency Community Emergency Plan lead by Cornwall Council localism service.
2.2.4 Financial Support
A number of different support schemes were announced by central government at various stages during the storms. These were generally aimed at supporting businesses and residents where properties had been affected. The main strands of support were:
• Bellwin Scheme • Severe Weather Recovery Scheme • Council Tax Relief • Business Rates Relief • Business Support Scheme • Repair and Renew Grant • EFF – Storm Damage Gear Replacement Scheme • Sports England Fund • Visit England Fund • Environment Agency – Flood Defence Grant • DfT – Small Ports (covered in 2.1.6.1) • DfT – Highway repairs (covered in 2.1.2 and 2.1.3) • Coastal Communities Fund (covered in 2.1.7 and 2.1.9) • Farm Recovery Fund
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 26
Bellwin Scheme
The Bellwin Scheme is designed to give emergency financial assistance to upper tier local authorities in times of an emergency or disaster. Ministers make the decision to enact the scheme as there is no automatic entitlement, but traditionally it has been set up in response to bad weather. For the winter 2013/14 storms it was enacted and then for the first time ever it’s terms were revised around dates of spend, claims and lowering of thresholds.
Authorities make a claim based on eligible spend, which is classed as immediate action to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or severe inconvenience to inhabitants. Critically this criterion was never revised and is the main reason why the Bellwin scheme would never cover the full cost of the repair bill. For Cornwall Council the eligible spend amounted to £1.95m. However a principle of the schemes is that if there are alternative sources of funding available then these should be called upon first. A claim for the £1.95m was submitted to the DCLG by the revised deadline of the end of June 2014, however we are currently in dialogue with DCLG as to the ongoing works which are in line for potential funding by the Environment Agency. As funding for projects is secured the element of spend relating to initial emergency works in the Councils Bellwin claim will be adjusted downwards.
Therefore with funding for projects still being ratified by the EA and attracting funding the position with regards to Bellwin is still open with the DCLG. As yet no monies from the Bellwin claim have been received from DCLG. If the EA funding goes as planned it is highly likely that no monies will be paid out as we would have fallen below our threshold
Severe Weather Recovery Scheme
A £76.5M fund operated jointly by DCLG and DfT was established to contribute to the costs of supporting local communities and repairing the highway infrastructure. To date Cornwall has received:
• £113k grant from the community fund • £10.7m severe weather grant • £4.3m grant from the “Pothole Fund”.
Council Tax / Business Rate Relief
The Council Tax and Business Rate relief provided a three month discount on the current annual bill if a property was flooded between 1 December 2013 and 31 March 2014. This is administered by Cornwall Council’s Revenues department but is funded centrally. To date there has been the following uptake:
Council Tax – 35 Awards totalling £10,147 Business Rate Relief – 38 awards totalling £253,634
Business Support Scheme
Cornwall Council was awarded £330K from Government to deliver the Business Support Scheme. This was based on the known number of 126 businesses directly affected. The scheme was designed to help cover costs of:
• Loss of stock • Like-for-like repair to the business premises • Non-recoverable insurance excesses • Extra staff costs associated with the clean-up • Third party/other clean-up costs.
A local decision was taken to focus initially on those that were directly impacted by the storms. All 126 businesses were contacted and told of the availability of the grants up to a maximum of £2,500 per claimant. A total of 48 claims have been submitted as at 24 October 2014 with 19 having been settled as at this date with a value of £122,102.80. Five of the initial claims were deemed ineligible with the remaining 24 claims still pending, awaiting evidence from the businesses that they were either flooded or suffered financial loss. The reason for the low uptake appears to be a reluctance to have on record
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 27 anything that is evidence that they have been flooded for fear of it raising their insurance premiums. Instead, it means businesses are bearing the brunt themselves, despite help being available.
Following the initial round and when it became apparent that not all eligible businesses were intending to claim, the decision was been taken to broaden the scheme to include those that have been indirectly affected as well as revisiting and removing the cap on claims settled in the first round so that those businesses that were most hard hit by these weather events could be more fully compensated.
However, this needed careful consideration with regard to eligibility. It was agreed locally, and approved centrally at Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), that the indirect impact was to apply only where access to the business for customer or business owner was restricted, or where ongoing third party repair works is/was having a significant impact on a business’s ability to trade and that, in all cases, they have suffered demonstrable financial loss. This also includes businesses that are internet based and whose internet access was interrupted as a result of storm damage or repairs. The scheme will not cover “quiet trading” or a general drop in trade unless it is for the reasons already explained. To date 2 applications for indirect impact have been settled with a value of £2,215. The Business Support Scheme has been processed by Cornwall Development Company.
Summary of claims paid as of 15 October 2014:
Number of applications submitted = 48 Number of companies paid/part paid= 19 Number of companies with applications in progress = 24 Total amount of grant approved = £122,103 Total amount to be approved, awaiting evidence = £180,000
Repair and Renew Grant
The final scheme announced by Government was the Repair & Renew Scheme. This is designed to offer businesses or residents grants of up to £5K towards making their property more resilient against future flooding. The details relating to this scheme took some time to clarify by central government and still required a considerable amount of local interpretation. Known figures would suggest 365 properties (residential and business) are eligible and this will be a sizeable scheme to manage. Due to the nature of the scheme and its delivery of building improvements, each case has to have bespoke solutions and will need considerable project management and administration. The application and process of claims has been streamlined to make it as manageable as possible and as least onerous for the property owner. The funds have to be spent by 31 March 2015 and a local decision was made that applications therefore will close as at 30 November 2014 to allow the building works to be completed.
To raise awareness of the scheme two flood surgeries have been held – Looe and Penzance - with relatively good take-up. These surgeries also provided examples of the types of equipment that could be installed in properties. Cornwall Council is not procuring any of the works and it is for individual property owners to source this, but advice and support on this is provided via the Council and Cornwall Community Flood Forum. As of 1 September there have been 39 enquiries and 43 applications. 12 are commercial and remainder residential. 5 applications valued at £21K are complete and the remainder with the contractors for surveys or delivery. Further publicity will be undertaken in September and October as the gaps in applications become more apparent and as the tourism season quietens allowing businesses time to apply
European Fisheries Fund - Storm Damage Gear Replacement Scheme
In February the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) launched a fund to support fisherman who had lost equipment at seas, particularly pots. So far from Cornwall 42 initial applications have been made for a total of £131k. As of 1 September, 27 detailed claims have been made of which 7 have been approved and totalling £19k.
Sport England Fund
A £5M National Lottery Fund, run by Sport England was established in February. There are two elements. The first offered grants of up to £2k to help sports clubs whose facilities had been damaged
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 28 and to help the clean-up operation. The second offered larger grants for longer-term, larger projects addressing more extensive damage which will take longer to repair.
Visit England Fund
Visit England funded Visit Cornwall (£30k) to deliver one day workshops to tourism businesses to help them with recovery activities, particularly marketing and resilience planning for the future. Over 240 businesses attended with around 50 receiving follow up 1 to 1 support.
In addition Cornwall alongside the other 18 affected counties did get some benefits from a national Visit England marketing campaign.
Farm Recovery Fund
The government provided a one-off £10M grant scheme designed to support farm businesses to restore flooded agricultural land and bring it back into production as quickly as possible. The fund was aimed at helping farmers introduce lasting and sustainable flood prevention measures to help secure future production once land is restored. It is not thought that any farmers from Cornwall qualified for this funding which was essentially aimed at areas such as the Somerset Levels that were flooded for some time.
Flood Re Scheme
For households that have a high flood risk the Government via Defra have announced the Flood Re scheme for residential properties but not for small businesses which may prove an issue in Cornwall. The Flood Re scheme will replace the current ‘Statement of Principles’ scheme in 2015.
The Flood Re scheme provides a fund to offer people at high flood risk, who might otherwise struggle to get affordable flood insurance, with cover at a set price. Insurers will put into the fund those high flood risk homes they feel unable to insure themselves, with the premium to cover the flood risk part of the household premium capped.
The cap will be based on Council Tax bands, starting at no more than £210 per annum in Bands A and B, rising to £540 pa in Band G. To help fund this, all home insurers will collectively be subject to a levy. On average this works out at £10.50 a year on all home insurance policies.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
All of the above schemes set up by various government departments are to be welcomed. However each has its own administrative requirements and some, particularly the storm gear replacement seem over bureaucratic. As yet government have not offered any financial assistance to administer the various schemes though it is hoped that some assistance will be made available to administer the Repair and Renew grant scheme which potentially could have over 300 applicants.
It is also recognised that schemes such as the Property Level Protection model, as promoted by the National Flood Forum, is a crucial resource to help property owners prepare for flooding and to mitigate probable damage.
2.2.5 Short and Long Term Health Implications
During winter 2013/14 unfortunately there was one fatality of a young man who was drowned at Porthleven on New Year’s Day 2014 and whose death was ruled as accidental. Fortunately there were no other tragedies. However a resident at Kingsand received a head injury when a wave washed into his property and an elderly lady was injured in St Ives when she was washed off her feet on the seafront. Outside of these incidents there were no noticeable increases in admissions or referrals.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 29
The health community is watching closely for any long term mental health issues caused by the severe weather but is not expected to show for a period of between 6/9 months. It is also noted that a series of poor winters is having an impact on the farming community.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
As yet it is too early to say if any resulting mental health problems will surface and NHS England has written out to all doctors to ask them to look out for any affects and report back centrally.
In terms of ‘Farm Cornwall’ (a project that Cornwall Rural Community Council operates in the far west of the county that concentrates on farming mental health issues) they have been ‘busier than ever’. 75% of their workload relates to finance issues. The poor weather compounded this although – in mitigation – the wet Spring/early Summer has meant that feed costs have largely been recovered.
2.2.6 Community Engagement
It became evident during early January that this was not a one-off incident and that Response and Recovery operations would run concurrently for a period of time. Therefore a series of local community engagement was essential so that they could be kept informed and involved in what was happening. Community engagement events were held in many locations including:
• Calstock • Penzance • Perranporth • St Mawes
In addition specific meetings were held with senior managers of various Council Services, local members, residents and businesses to resolve specific issues. These included Porthmeor Beach, St Ives and Blue Reef Aquarium, Newquay.
Summary Impact and Mitigations
The winter storms had a significant impact in over 35 communities across Cornwall. With many communities being affected on more than one occasion. This was compacted by the long protracted 3 month timescale meaning that in many communities full scale repairs could not commence until April 2014. Consequently it was essential for Statutory Agencies to maintain a regular 2-way dialogue with all affected communities.
2.2.7 Communications
Communications from and between partners in Cornwall during last winter’s storms was crucial to keeping people informed and safe. Cornwall Council’s communications team took the lead on coordinating and publishing clear and timely messages using a whole variety of media.
During the storms the Council’s communication specialists played a key role is ensuring that local and national press and media, the pubic, partners and Cornwall Council members were kept informed as events occurred. Urgent safety messages were distributed to warn and inform people of the dangers to help mitigate potential risk to life and property. Information was quickly provided on where the storms were causing problems and how partners were responding, and how people could let the emergency flood team know of any problems.
One issue that came to the fore this winter was the issue of “storm watchers” who as well as putting their own lives in danger hampered the response work of the Statutory Agencies. This was a particular issue in Portreath.
After the storms Cornwall Council communication team were an integral part of the storm recovery team to ensure pubic and partners’ messages were consistent, coordinated and clear. Information on how people could access advice, guidance and financial support was very quickly made available on the Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 30
Council website, issued to press and media, and shared with towns and parish councils, partners and communities affected by the storms.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
Excellent partner communications ensured people in Cornwall were kept well informed of the risks associated with the storms. People and businesses affected by the storms were regularly made aware of help available to them.
2.3 Key Economic Impacts
2.3.1 Tourism
Tourism is an important cross cutting sector for Cornwall; related to other sectors such as agriculture & food and culture. Ensuring that supply chains are lengthened and add value is an important part of Cornwall’s future economic strategy.
Tourism business levels from January to June were reduced but the excellent summer weather has encouraged tourists to come back to Cornwall. This is in contrast with other destinations in the UK - the Lake District and the Cotswolds had a good start to their trading year. It appears that the storms and media stories of the South West and Cornwall being cut off happened as our customers were in "decision making mode" and the February storms has impacted on the crucial time for deciding where to go for a spring break but also for a summer holiday. Coastal accommodation – such as at Kingsand – were directly affected by the structural weakness of the clock tower threatening their properties.
Particularly badly hit has been the farm and rural based businesses, Bed & Breakfast/Guest House sector where bookings made in January 2014 for the following inclusive 5 months have fallen by a median 22%. Hotel accommodation bookings fell by almost 29%. These are important as they are employing sectors, so any offset through increased accommodation in other tenures is not matched by economic impact. This has been confirmed by Farm Stay UK who note what they are calling the M5 effect, by which they mean their web traffic is up 30% for the rest of the country but flat or in minus points for Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. In addition Torbay has reported a patchy and poor start to the year. For example, one major north Cornwall coast restaurant noted that its customer base was down by up to a quarter during winter 2013/14 and had early spring trade affected by the negative media coverage. It appears small but significant numbers of customers have either written off coming to Cornwall this spring and summer and even in 2014 altogether.
With the closure of the main rail line due to flooding in Somerset and land slips at Dawlish; First Great Western reported a loss of two thirds of passengers into Cornwall and Devon despite alternative transport being provided. Network Rail restored the Dawlish link earlier than anticipated (before Easter 2014). In addition, Government paid a subsidy to allow additional capacity to operate via Newquay Cornwall Airport.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
The storms and the impact of the media exposure, with the loss of the rail line in Devon resulted in the perception of Cornwall being cut off, resulted in lost bookings during the storm period of January to April 2014 with then only a 85% recovery as there is a “long tail” in such instances. The “open for business” campaign worked to some degree, but Cornwall is underperforming in business levels compared with other leading destinations such as the Lake District and the Cotswolds. Advertising and the workshops have made a significant difference but recovery is still ongoing.
This impact on the ‘supply chain’ could affect longer term prices at the plate. Staff also struggled to get to work due to the adverse weather conditions.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 31
2.3.2 Retail
There were 126 known businesses directly affected by the floods and storms. The most concentrated impact was Looe where 60 businesses flooded. Perranporth was also badly affected, as was Penzance, St Ives and St Mawes. Not all the businesses were retail, but the majority were independent SMEs and less likely to have the economies of scale to absorb the additional financial strain caused by the floods. Cornwall Council’s Town Centre Management team has been in direct contact with the majority of those affected, or secondary contact (via trade organisations). The team visited all businesses in Looe and in Perranporth, to ascertain where any future support could be focussed and all the businesses have been given a survey to complete and the response rate has been approx. 35% so far with some clear messages around property protection requirements.
Of particular note was the lack of business continuity planning by many businesses with no “Plan B” in terms of operations, supply chain, communications, etc. Part of the survey work undertaken was whether businesses would benefit from free business continuity planning advice and the majority of replies have been in the negative. For many, the perception was that protecting the property from flooding was a council function and not an individual one, whereas in other areas (which flood more frequently) there was stronger resilience to deal with measures themselves.
Additionally Business in the Community (BitC) has supported many businesses across Cornwall and the response has been good. The focus for most was to be open for Easter (April) and then the half term (May). Visitor numbers for both holidays were strong but business performance has varied.
A number of town centre businesses were not directly affected but access to them was limited, and there have been requests for Discretionary Business Rate Relief. The Government funded Business Rate Relief scheme (mentioned in section 2.2.4 above) only applies to those directly flooded. Yet the wider impact for many businesses has meant that trade has been adversely affected, either due to the storms or due to repair works, but they are not automatically entitled to Business Rate relief. Any rate relief which falls outside the Government scheme would have to be financed by the Local Authority.
It was noted that a number of businesses did not have property insurance due to unaffordable premiums resulting from previous flooding. There is nervousness from businesses to take up the various financial grants available to them for fear of it being evidence of flooding and having an impact on their insurance premiums. Whilst there is currently negotiation around Flood Re for residential properties (at central government level), it would be beneficial if similar negotiations with the insurance industry were undertaken to support the business community. Another reason for the low uptake is that businesses were naturally focussed on trying to reopen in time for the busy April Easter period. It is noted that ongoing contact with the businesses must continue to help ensure they take up the offers available to them if they wish to, and understanding that any application process needs to be quick and accessible – which, generally, it is.
There was a separate issue to note with regards Railway Station franchise businesses. With the closure of the railway line at Dawlish, the various retail and food outlets were impacted by lack of trade. It is recommended that work be undertaken to ascertain how much impact this had and be included in any wider assessment of the impact of the railway closure.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
The intention was to run pilot schemes in Looe and Perranporth to support business continuity planning and provide skills training to allow the towns to be better prepared for flooding. Following feedback form the towns this training will not now take place. Instead, The Town Centre Management team is supporting the Winter Wellbeing campaign through the Cornwall Community Flood Forum and will provide a Town Centre Section in that advice.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 32
2.3.3 Manufacturing
Cornwall’s manufacturing sector is largely dependent on road based transport for both inbound and outbound freight movements and many of Cornwall’s businesses are located on minor roads which can increase the risk of being cut-off. Recent national survey work by the Road Haulage Association indicated that vehicle maintenance costs for the businesses that use roads have increased due to road quality deterioration for 81% of respondents.
DfT data suggests that the cost of each hours delay for a vehicle is £13.91 an additional cost to business when considering the cost of fuel and drivers time. There is also an impact in some business particularly food processing related industries which rely on the principle of “just in time deliveries” to retailers.
Supporting the development of alternative means of moving freight, including by rail and water will improve the sustainability and robustness of this sector is important as well as giving due consideration to eliminating “single points of failure” on the networks.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
Although the impact on manufacturing in Cornwall was limited, the manufacturing sector is highly reliant on agile logistics to get goods to market. This is particularly true of Cornwall’s brand reputation for food and drink. Although there appears not to have been delay to Cornwall’s trunk road network due to the severe weather of 2013/14; falling trees and floods would have interfered with minor roads which connect Cornwall’s economy to the strategic road network. The rural economy accounts for up to 45% of all jobs in Cornwall, and around 40% of GVA.
2.3.4 Fishing
Newlyn is a major national fishing port and was hit by severe winter weather and flooding. Other ports and harbours contribute significant elements to the industry: from crustaceans in Helford or Penberth Cove to smaller yet significant fleet fishing in places like Porthleven. Indeed, in Porthleven six boats sank in the harbour as a result of the bad weather, although these were all successfully refloated.
Fishing vessels often represent a second mortgage for their owners: with a range of technology invested on the vessels and the possibility of hardship for the employees concerned.
In Looe there is a strong relationship between the fishing sector and tourism: visitors are attracted to Looe because it is still a historic working port with a range of methods employed from netters to trawlers. The immediate supply chain includes chandlers, maintenance/repair, merchants, retail/processing, markets, cafes and restaurants. The fish market only remained open (without the continuity of supply) by staff using up their holiday entitlement when business was idle. Looe shops were hit in January storms with Fore Street shopkeepers being hit by flooding in their premises.
The impact of the severe weather on these businesses stemmed from fishing vessels being stuck in the harbour for up to two months. Net fishermen needed to have a consistent two day window to be able to fish.
Like Looe, the centre of Newlyn experienced flooding once again. Newlyn landings are worth around £27-£30m per year with an additional £36-40m achieved in processing. January and February are the key months when the catch value would peak at around £4.5m per month.
Nothing was landed at the beginning of 2014 as a result of the storms so it is estimated that this has had an impact of a £7m fall in GDP. There is no way to recover this loss – it is permanent – and affects popular species such as Cod, Haddock & Ling. The consequence of short supply will be passed onto the consumer in terms of cost linked to demand.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 33
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
Severe weather had impacted on restaurant supply and the availability of popular species of fish. There is a danger that these costs will be passed onto the consumer when (already) bookings are down. Loss cannot be recovered in the fishing industry in the same way that (e.g. early planting or other seasonal benign impacts) can influence a sector such as agriculture. Therefore, the sector will need greater support when it comes to marketing and supporting the fishing communities and supporting sectors in finding ways forward.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 34
2.4 Key Environmental Impacts
2.4.1 Beaches and the coastline
Beaches form an essential part of life in Cornwall, providing an important outlet for recreational use, supporting the local economy to the tune of £1.6 billion a year through tourism and supporting 20,000 jobs (South West Tourism 2007). Beaches help provide natural coastal protection, contribute significantly to the distinctive Cornish landscape and sustain varied wildlife. Beaches are a particularly significant part of Cornwall’s natural infrastructure and one of the main reasons why people choose to come to Cornwall to live and visit all year round.
Beaches are dynamic environments and naturally buffer and absorb energy from waves. Beaches naturally change shape throughout the year on an annual cycle beach lowering is a normal winter process, and usually beaches recover to their pre-Winter levels during the calmer summer months when the more gentle summer waves mobilise the offshore sediment from the sand bars and bring it back onto the beaches, recovering them to their pre-Winter profiles.
Beach Summer and Winter Profiles
The storms that occurred during the winter months (which included the highest ever wave heights recorded off of Cornish Coast) were extremely high energy events and the beaches struggled to absorb this energy. The sediment associated with the beaches and dune systems helped buffer the energy of the waves and following the storms a considerable amount of this sediment shifted from the beach to further offshore. This has had a lasting impact on the profile of the current shoreline and in many areas sand levels are lower than in previous years. Changes in beach elevation have generally been recorded as between 1m and 3m, but in extreme cases 8m of change in beach level have been recorded. This level of beach loss that has been observed across the area has not been witnessed before. Significant beach impacts have been observed at the following locations:
• Bude • Perranporth • Hayle • Coverack • Seaton
It is anticipated that the sand will eventually wash back onshore but the process of recovery will take time to occur naturally and is unlikely in some areas to be complete before this winter (2014/15). In the short term this can have a potential impact on the recreational use of a beach as exposed wave cut Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 35 platforms and pebble ridges can decrease the usable area of a beach (as seen at Fistral where the Lifeguards are red flagging the beach due to a stone ridge).
Sand Cliff at Perranporth
In one location in St Ives, the opposite effect occurred in early January where sand was deposited on Porthmeor Beach causing waves to crash into properties. This accumulation of sand was removed before the high Spring Tides in February.
In addition to the impact on beaches the scale of the erosive potential of the storms can also still be seen through the dune systems in Cornwall, especially on the north coast. Dunes have retreated in some areas by more than 10 metres, leaving the dune slope almost vertical in some places. The collapse of the cliffing dunes initially posed a safety risk and on some dunes exposed old and corroded wire fencing. Though the dunes are still steep the risk associated with them falling has reduced now they are lying at lower angle.
Another impact of the stormy events is that marine associated debris was stirred up and fed via the Gulf Stream to our shores. Both during and following the storms a significant volume of debris was washed onto Cornish shores and in many instances alongside the stranding of dead marine animals. This debris has been collected from Council beaches via its waste contractor and also through various community groups who were conscious of the scale and volume of debris that was stranded on the shoreline.
The winter storms resulted in significant damage to infrastructure on many beaches including Perranporth, Newquay (Lusty Glaze, Porth and Fistral), Hayle, Marazion, Praa Sands, Porthpean, Fowey (Readymoney Cove) and Par.
Summary Impact and Mitigations
Cliff failures and coastal erosion has led to the temporary and in places, permanent loss of coastal footpaths on a significant scale. Through carefully delivered local strategies, investment and land owner negotiations, a number of footpaths were temporarily re-routed or repaired to maintain the operational of this economically important green infrastructure. Beach amenity has been impaired and in places, access to this green infrastructure has been compromised.
A survey of the beach levels and the adjacent bathymetry of the ocean floor will help identify the scale (spatial and temporal) of the impact. Outputs from such a survey could be used to identify potential restoration and or mitigation measures.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 36
2.4.2 Wildlife
From the marine perspective the main impact of the severe weather was on seals and seabirds. There were huge numbers of seals, mainly new born pups, killed due to the rough weather and separation from their mothers, as well as cliff falls. Over 2000 seabirds stranded on Cornish beaches, mainly dying from exhaustion. Little mitigation was possible in these cases. However, Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT) Marine Strandings Network record all stranded animals and liaise with relevant organisations to co-ordinate rescues of seals where appropriate, and to monitor the impact of the storms on bird populations. In relation to woodland nature reserves all landowners have reported a higher than usual number of trees damaged and fallen due to the high winds.
Any long impact on species has not yet been identified and will only become clear over time. It has been identified that substantial areas of intertidal habitat have been swept away and buried, including habitats in the more “stable” rock substrates as well as mud and sand based habitats. The long term implications for the loss of these habitats have not yet been assessed.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
Cornwall has one of the smallest woodland covers of any England county – around 7%. Tree landscape maturity is an extra-important part of landscape enhancement which can be lost due to these severe weather events. Fallen trees can be plundered for their wood which is to the detriment of bio diversity and re-growth from the woodland floor.
2.4.3 Water ecology
The Environment Agency have not undertaken any immediate action to put in place additional survey or monitoring of river quality. Initial indications however have shown local impacts such as
• An increase in salinity of the Loe Pool (which is likely to be due to the ingress of sea water either through or over Loe Bar) • An increase in flow/discharge downstream of some reservoirs due to continued over-topping • Movement of river bed sediment material
Additional positive and negative impacts may reveal themselves in the near future, as the results from routine monitoring (chemical and biological) surveys are reviewed and assessed and compiled into reports. These reports are typically prepared and published during the year following sampling.
Cornwall’s abandoned mining assets can also contribute to water quality issues, particularly during periods of prolonged rainfall where groundwater levels in the adits and shafts may rise leading to surface discharges.
CWT(Cornwall Wildlife Trust) is working with the Environment Agency and South West Water and other partners, in particular farmers in catchments where water quality is impacted upon by land management practices. In some areas, the severe weather increased impacts on water quality through increased sedimentation of rivers and increases in diffuse pollution (pesticides and herbicides). The agencies are working with farmers in a couple of catchments to seek to reduce these impacts through, for example, creation and improvement of wetland habitats that can slow down flow of water into rivers and increase the water storage capacity of the land – as well as improving habitats for wildlife. More about the East Looe catchment project is at: http://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/conservation/Living_landscapes/east_looe
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
At this stage it is too eerily to fully assess any long term water ecology impacts though it reinforces the need for water ecology to be managed on a whole catchment basis.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 37
2.4.4 Surface Water Run-off
It is estimated that a significant number, possibly as many as 20%, of properties affected by inland flooding fell victim to the effects of surface water runoff, some of it from neighbouring agricultural, open, developed and bare land. Whilst not affecting whole communities, this tends to impact individual or small numbers of properties spread across the whole County, with many incidents going unreported at the time and only now coming to light.
Surface water run-off from the various types of land listed above has no doubt increased in recent years and in many areas it is a contributory factor in the degradation of highway drainage features particularly in rural areas. The significant increase in surface water runoff incidents can partly be attributed to a changing climate with a greater incidence of heavier rainfall events. Changes in farming practice, development on flood plains, hard covering of gardens, etc. have also directly or indirectly led to changing land management practices, water flows, etc. The following factors also contribute to increased surface water runoff:
• Changing crops and different growing techniques coupled with the greater incidence of heavier rainfall events are resulting in increased surface water runoff incidents. It should be noted that specialist crops are an important feature of the Cornish farming sector but do not represent a significant proportion of the land usage so their impact is limited in geographic terms. • There may also be less incentive to maintain hedges and ditches to the appropriate standard although as this forms part of the landowners/tenants responsibilities to meet their “cross compliance” through Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC) regulations a minimum standard is still required. • ‘Best practice’ dictates that ploughing and furrowing / ridging for crops is carried out along land contours, however some machinery is difficult and slower to use working across contours. Further information needs to be made available to farmers to help them understand the importance of soil to their business and their obligations under the Water Framework Directive, which the Environment Agency will be consulting on shortly. • Larger tractor units and machinery can lead to added compaction particularly in gateways. The significance of this compaction is only now being fully understood and again will be subject to the Water Framework Directive so a programme of knowledge transfer will be required to educate the owners/users of land about these issues.
Summary of Impact and Mitigations
Again this a long term change that cannot solely be attributed to the winter 2014 weather but reinforces the need to adopt whole catchment area management plans.
2.4.5 Geology and Natural Landscape assets
The storms have provided unique, ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities for geologists to study sections of cliff and areas of beach that have not previously been exposed in living memory and which are now being documented for the first time. Old storm beaches were reactivated, such as that at Lowland Point, and several metres of sand were stripped away around much of the coast revealing extensive fossil forests and relict coastal features such as:
• a lagoon at Kennack Sands , • a granite boulder bed at Praa Sands and • a former intertidal zone at Gunwalloe Fishing Cove .
Two new County Geology Sites have already been designated with another two potential sites currently being researched. The sand is now returning and many of the features have already been covered over again. There was unrepairable damage to iconic natural asset landscape assets across Cornwall. In Porthcothnan Bay the stone archway, known locally as The Anchor or Jan Leverton's Rock was lost.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 38
Summary Impacts and Mitigations
The natural landscape is a key economic driver for Cornwall and recognised as such by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP. It acts both as an inspiration for creative business and a sense of place for those who have their home here. The cultural story of Cornwall is a driving economic factor across many economic sectors: responsible for over 10,000 jobs.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 39
Acknowledgements
Thanks to the many people who contributed to this report including
Andy Brelsford , Support and Development Manager, Volunteer Cornwall Andy Brigden , Maritime Manager, Cornwall Council Andy Brown , Assistant Head of Finance, Cornwall Council Andy Stevenson , Highways and Drainage Manager, Cornwall Council Arthur Roberts , Emergency Management Officer, Cornwall Council Beverley Hales , Operations and Delivery Manager, NHS England Beverly Hill , Communications and Engagement Specialist, Cornwall Council Daniel Ratcliffe , Historic Environment and Place Shaping Lead, Cornwall Council Dave Owens , Former Head of Environment, Cornwall Council David Read , Policy Specialist, Cornwall Council David Rodda , Rural Delivery Manager, Cornwall Development Company Duncan Struggles , FCRM Advisor, Environment Agency Esther Richmond , Community Network Manager, Cornwall Council Guy Thomas , Town Centre Management Specialist, Cornwall Council Hannah Harris , Project Support Officer, Strategic Infrastructure and Business Ian Steed , Incident Investigator, Cornwall Council Jolyon Sharpe , Environment Officer, Cornwall Council Jon James , Natural Environment Manager, Cornwall Council Malcom Bell , Head of Visit Cornwall Mark James , Localism Team leader, Cornwall Council Mark Meredith , Tamar Bridge Operations Manager Mark Summers , Public Health, Cornwall Council Martin Clemo , Flood and Drainage Team Leader, Cornwall Council Martyn Alvey , Community Flood Resilience Manager, Cornwall Council Nick Blandford , Head of Business and Skills, Cornwall Development Company Peter Hocking , South West Water Peter Marsh , Commissioning Manger, Cornwall Council Philippa Dowling , Policy Specialist, Cornwall Council Rachael Bice , Environment Service, Cornwall Council Steve Blatchford , Environment Officer, Cornwall Council Steve Horscroft , Strategy Integration Officer, Cornwall Council Toby Lowe, Countryside Team Leader, Cornwall Council Trish Hewitt , Communications Manager, Cornwall Council
Prepared by: Rob Andrew and David Read
Job titles: Assistant Head of Service – Localism and Devolution Policy Specialist - Strategy and Policy
Team: Localism and Devolution
Service: Customers and Communications
If you would like this information in another format please contact:
Cornwall Council County Hall Treyew Road Truro TR1 3AY
Telephone: 0300 1234 100 Email: [email protected] www.cornwall.gov.uk
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 40
Appendix 1 – Coastal Path Impacts
• Britain Cliff Portwrinkle : Footpath diverted following a cliff fall, a 100m section the Coast Path west of Portwrinkle • Downderry : One of the footpaths heading back off the beach has been closed due to flood damage to the adjacent river bank. • Gillan Creek : The low tide route option across Gillan Creek from Flushing to St Anthony is closed due to erosion. • Hemmick : the path has been realigned following a landslip on the route between Hemmick and Caerhayes. • Jacket’s Point (between Port Isaac and Tintagel): in one of the most dangerous cliff falls witnessed in recent years, the National Trust has created a gentle zig-zag path taking walkers away from this dangerous location. A landslide on the inland side is being regularly inspected for signs of movement. There are plans to remove some of the material from the slope to reduce the potential for future collapse • Millendreath : Following a landslip, in the woods below the Monkey Sanctuary much of the path between Millendreath and Seaton has been diverted inland. • Morwenstow : an extensive section of the coast path was closed following a cliff fall. In conjunction with a landowner, a new route around the cliff fall has been created and the path reopened. • Pennylands, Looe: landslip near the harbour has resulted in rock anchors and mesh being installed. • Polurrian Cove : The footbridge at Polurrian Cove, near Mullion was damaged. • Porthallow/Porthoustock : The footbridge between Porthallow and Porthoustock was damaged. • Porthpean : Due to a cliff fall, a section of the Coast Path at Porthpean was diverted slightly inland. • Portnadler Bay (between Hannafore and Talland Bay ): tension cracks resulting in diversion. • Talland : several landslips resulting in diversion • Whitsand Bay : Due to a landslip at Whitsand Bay the section of Coast Path that descends through the chalets has been closed
During the severe weather in 2013/14 the main impacts were:
• Clodgy Point, St Ives : the path surface was damaged and there is cliff instability. It requires diversion works, resurfacing and drainage works. • Coverack, Paris Hotel: there was a cliff slip. The path has been made safe and remaining issue passed to landowner. • Coverack : Surface of the path was washed out and it is in poor condition. It requires resurfacing and some drainage works. • Daymer Bay : Steps to beach damaged. Path currently closed with diversion. • Durgan near Helford : there are cliff stability issues. The path currently on temporary diversion and needs additional works to secure a permanent long term diversion. • Fowey, Little Hell: collapse of drainage pipes which requires reinstatement. • Gwithian Towans : mineshaft and adit opened with associated cliff instability which affects the path. It requires fencing and other safety works • Hallane, St Austell : the stream and path have been undermined and it requires stability works. There is also a cliff slip which requires a permanent diversion. • Hawkers Cove, Padstow : there was a cliff slip which requires a permanent diversion. • Lamorna Cove : the bridge damaged which requires repairs to footings. • Lansallos Talland Eastern : there was a cliff slip resulting in diversion of path. Works have already been carried out using funding from Natural England • Lansallos Talland Middle : gabion baskets destroyed and spray concrete undermined. It requires works to stabilise the bank to prevent landslip. • Lansallos Talland Western: cliff slip resulting in closure of path and diversion of road. Works required to divert the path through adjacent land. • Lelant to Porth Kidney : surface of path washed out, requiring resurfacing and drainage works. • Lugger Hotel, Portloe : damage to sea wall below the path. A joint scheme proposed with adjacent landowner. • Mans Head, St Ives: A cliff slip has resulted in the path being diverted and slip fenced off.
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 41
• Marazion to Penzance cycleway / SWCP: extensive damage to path surface, retaining walls and other infrastructure. Some temporary repairs carried out but it requires additional permanent works. • Marazion : the slipway to the beach, East of Marazion was damaged. The path is currently closed with a temporary diversion and requires new route to be established with permanent diversion. • Pendower Beach: Path eroded and bridge damaged, requiring path to be diverted. • Perranporth Beach : Training wall for the bridge was damaged which has now been repaired. • Perranuthnoe : there was a cliff failure. The path is currently closed with a diversion and requires works to install alternative new route. • Peters Point, Gwithian : cliff slip and steps to beach lost. They are temporarily closed and require permanent closure. • Phillack Dunes, Hayle : surface of the path damaged and temporary fencing erected. • Polridmouth , Fowey: there was a cliff slip which requires diversion. • Polurrian : the footbridge damaged and the path is currently closed and diverted. • Porth Island : there was a cliff slip. The path is closed and requires permanent diversion. The area is Scheduled Monument so consent required from English Heritage. • Portloe : there was a cliff slip which requires a diversion. • Praa Sands : Steps and handrail damaged which requires concrete repairs and replacement hand rail. • Red River, Marazion : Bridge gabions and training wall damaged which require repairs to protect the bridge. • Soapy Cove Lizard : Path surface was damaged, requiring drainage works and resurfacing. • St Anthonys Head : a bridge was destroyed. The path was closed and diverted. It requires a replacement bridge. • St Blaise : there was a cliff slip which requires a permanent diversion. • St Loy : Damage to surface of path and cliff stability issues. Requires repairs to surface and diversion around unstable areas. • Swanpool to Gyllingvase : undermining of the path which requires repairs to existing sea wall. • Tregiffian Cliff, Sennen : stability issues affecting cliff which requires diversion of path. • Trevone to Harlyn : Cliff stability issues and surface damaged. This requires diversion of coast path and reinstatement of surface. • Trevone : Damage to sea wall and path surface washed out. It requires repairs to sea wall and reinstatement of surface. • Trewoon, St Mewan : surface of path damaged which requires resurfacing. • Watergate Bay: surface of path damaged requiring drainage works and resurfacing. Widemouth Bay : boardwalk destroyed and fence collapsed which requires reinstatement
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 42
Appendix 2 – Green Infrastructure Impacts
• Bolingey : washed out bridleway which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Bude Canal : bank slippage and tow path undermined which require repair • Camel Trail : surface and drainage damage which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Cardinham: undermined bridge which requires new abutments. • Carters Grave Lane, Ludgvan : washed out bridleway which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Chacewater : washed out bridleway which requires drainage works and resurfacing. • Gwennap: washed out bridleway which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Gwithian : washed out bridleway which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Hayle, Carbis Mill : River bank stability issues which requires rerouting of the path. • Kea: Bridleway damaged drainage which requires new drainage and damaged bridge which is currently closed which requires replacement. • Lewannick: washed out footpath which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Linkinhorne: boardwalk washed away which requires replacement with new structure • Luxulyan Valley: damage to leats which requires repairs to prevent flooding. • Mawgan Porth: washed out footpath which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Mylor: two washed out footpaths which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Perranaworthal: washed out bridleway which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Perranuthnoe: washed out footpath which requires drainage works and resurfacing • Roche: collapsed culvert on footpath which requires replacement. • Seaton Valley: damage to boardwalks across the site which requires replacement and new boardwalks. • Sithney: two washed out footpaths which require drainage works and resurfacing • St Agnes: washed out bridleway and footpath which both require drainage works and resurfacing • St Clement: washed out footpath which requires drainage works and resurfacing • St Hilary: three washed out bridleways which require drainage works and resurfacing • St Mawes: Landslip which requires diversion of path into adjacent land. • St Mawgan: washed out footpath which requires drainage works and resurfacing • St Minver: two washed out footpaths which require drainage works and resurfacing • Wendron: two washed out bridleways which require drainage works and resurfacing
Impact of Severe Weather in Cornwall – Winter 2013/2014 Report Date: October 2014 V1.2 DRAFT 43