Plans for a 415m stretch of sea wall between the Coastguards Boathouse and Colonnade breakwater will go to district council planners this month. It’s part of an £80m project to improve sea defences in Dawlish. Work on the first section of the wall, at Marine Parade, which began in 2019 is progressing well and should be completed in a few months. When both sections are built, Network Rail hope the new, larger structure will protect the town and the railway from extreme weather and tides for the next 100 years.
The latest proposals will see the construction of a new taller sea wall along the full length of the station. It will be shaped to direct waves out to sea so that trains and passengers waiting on the station platform don’t get a soaking in bad weather. The new wall will have a wide promenade on top at platform height. The Grade Two listed station will also get a new seaward platform to replace the current timber structure with better access from trains for people with special needs. Sea views from the platform and promenade will not be as good as they are now although raised seating will be provided so that visitors can see the ocean over the wall. There’ll also be a second footbridge with lifts with mechanisms and electronics designed to withstand seawall influx. New station access points will be opened on the seaside and a bridge will joint the station to the Marine Parade walkway.
The Coastguard Boathouse built in 1846 will be demolished. A footprint will be left to show where the building stood and the stone from the building will be used in constructing new public benches within the project.
To improve resilience, Network Rail will reconstruct the existing ‘stilling basin’ boundary wall on its existing footprint with a much stronger structure. This will take energy out of the waves and extend the life of the basin. The reduction in energy will reduce some of the beach material being deposited under the viaduct and protect the new link bridge and existing structure. Depending on rising sea levels, engineers think it’s possible that further work to the basin will be required in 30 to 40 years.
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