SLAPTON LINE ROAD NEWS PAGE
FOR THE VERY LATEST ROAD NEWS VISIT WWW.SLAPTONLINE.ORG
| For many years the A379 ran complete some 2.5 miles along the top of the shingle bank (The Line) from Torcross on bottom right past the turn to Slapton and the American Monument and on to Strete Gate at the end of the bank before climbing up the hill to Strete, Stoke Fleming and eventually Dartmouth. |
| After severe erosion caused by winter storms combined with seasonal high tides at the beginning of January 2001, the road had to be closed between the turn to Slapton and Strete. For the eleven weeks that the road was closed the adjacent coastal parishes realised how much their lifestyle and economic well being depended on this vital link. A temporary single file carriageway was constructed and eventually a replacement two way carriageway built some 25 metres inland. The whole of the shingle bank between the sea and the unique fresh water Slapton Ley and along which the A379 runs remains extremely vulnerable to wind and tide and the new section of road is not expected to last for more than five years. The Slapton Line Partnership which includes Devon County Council, South Hams District Council, Natural England and the Field Studies Council, together with representatives of the Environment Agency, Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and adjacent local parishes has been established to consider the interim and long-term requirements for Slapton Sands and the A379 Kingsbridge to Dartmouth road. See Slapton Line Partnership Website |
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GURNEY SURVEY RESULT In June 2002 Sarah Gurney of Plymouth University conducted a survey in relation to the A379 at Slapton Sands the results of which can be found on a page of this website click |
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PARISH COUNCILS LEARN HISTORY OF THE LINE Representatives from the 8 parish councils which make up the Coleridge Association of Parish Councils heard local historian, Anne Born outline the history of Slapton Sands. She explained that the shingle barrier has been calculated by various geologists to be 1800 years old. The road, or The Line as it was probably named when the Turnpike was created in 1856, was originally a walkway across the sand ridge, for at least a thousand years. The first artificial road surface was based on faggots or reeds and metalled after 1920, at first with dry-bound macadam and later bitumen. The extensive damage to the road has revealed the various layers beneath the surface, from sand, through peat, shells and hardcore to tarmacadam. For a fuller history CLICK. |
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