Caroline Voaden

Caroline Voaden

Liberal Democrat — South Devon

Speaking in the House of Commons on 11 February 2026

Debate

Engagements

Contribution

Q15. Last week, Start bay was devastated by storm damage. Homes and businesses were wrecked, and an important A road was severed. The thousands of people who use it to commute to school and work, and to get to healthcare, are stranded. Bus routes are broken and emergency vehicles are blocked. The presence of the 300,000 visitors who come annually and underpin our fragile tourism economy is now in doubt. That place stepped up twice to defend our country: once when 1.5 million cubic metres of shingle were dredged out of the bay to build to naval dockyards in Plymouth, and again when it was used as the training grounds for the D-day landings, at a cost of 750 American soldiers’ lives. It is also the site of a unique national nature reserve, with rare species found only there. This storm damage is of national significance. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the myriad Government agencies and Departments will work together with experts to find and fund a sustainable long-term solution to the coastal erosion that is inflicting so much—[Interruption.]

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