Staff from Torbay Council, SWISCo and Tor Bay Harbours have been working around the clock to clear up damage caused by Storm Ingrid over the weekend, with more than 17 tonnes of debris cleared.

Road closures, flooding, damage to walls, beach chalets, fences, bins and fallen branches and a suspected ordnance (unexploded bomb) were just some of the issues teams had to deal with on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

From Friday onwards there were road closures along the seafront at Torbay Road at Meadfoot, Livermead and Torquay due to high winds, overtopping waves, and a yellow weather warning.

Leader of Torbay Council David Thomas said: “I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the teams from the Council, SWISCo, and Tor Bay Harbours who worked so hard over the weekend to deal with the fall out from Storm Ingrid and we are also making sure we are prepared to deal with Storm Chandra and the Amber rain warning.

“Thank you to residents for observing road closures and please do stay safe and continue to follow local weather, traffic and travel advice.”

The seafront at Torquay was initially closed due to the high tide and the road being flooded because of it. It remained closed until Sunday due to the suspected bomb (which turned out to be a diving canister). Two fly trucks from SWISCo were pulled away from regular work on Saturday afternoon to assist Highways with tidying up Torquay seafront. A decision was made to close Paignton Sea Front too, as the promenade side was flooded.

There were a number of call outs on Saturday for fallen trees, flooding and damaged road signs and traffic signals.

Damage at Meadfoot

Meadfoot Sea Road – There was damage to the wall and a number of beach chalets. This was closed over the weekend for safety reasons. Heras fencing will be installed across the top of the main beach ramp and along the back of the footpath, to keep people safe and away from the unstable masonry structure and the significant drop where the structure/handrail has been lost to the sea. The road will reopen but the car park will remain closed for the time being.

Meadfoot Beach Café Beach Chalets – 18 of the beach chalets were badly damaged in the storm. Fencing will be introduced (diagonally) between the end of the ramp handrail and the railing (blue) running along the edge of the promenade. For now, public access will be maintained down the ramp and along the main promenade itself, to allow beach chalet owners to access their property and maintain public right of way. The concrete will be inspected on Wednesday when the temporary protective boarding can be removed. Two Small sweepers and the large sweeper are now on route to Meadfoot Beach to assist with the clear up in this area.

Kilmorie car park beach ramp (Ilsham Road end) – Following the recent wave action, the remaining structure at the ramp presents a greater risk to public safety so restrictions are now required. Heras fencing will be installed across the top of the ramp, along the side boundary of the car park. Fencing will also be installed across the top of the beach steps to deter the public from accessing the beach and exploring the void beneath the overhanging concrete slab.

Harbours – Tor Bay Harbour Authority implemented its heavy weather procedures in the days leading up to the storm, ensuring vessels were securely moored and increasing staffing levels during the worst conditions. Torquay Harbour’s patrol vessel, Oscar 4, remained operational throughout the weekend, providing monitoring and response capability.

Storm Ingrid brought severe weather conditions across Tor Bay from Friday evening till Sunday morning, with Force 10 winds, gusting up to 60mph, and very high seas. The conditions resulted in significant impacts to harbour operations and infrastructure across the bay.

During the storm, two fishing vessels in Torquay Harbour parted their mooring lines and were successfully made fast with the support of the harbour team. Two commercial vessels sheltering in the bay lost their anchors, and recovery operations are now underway to recover the lost anchors. In addition, two trailers and two 3.5-tonne steel piles secured on Haldon Pier were washed into the harbour basin; some items have already been recovered, with the remainder scheduled for recovery by divers.

Initial post-storm surveys estimate damage to harbour infrastructure at approximately £500,000, including damage to harbour walls, pontoon structures and access ways. Detailed inspections and recovery works are ongoing, with the Harbour Authority prioritising safety critical equipment and the restoration of normal harbour operations.

Street cleansing - Street cleansing teams were out with the large sweeper on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January to clear roads along with fly trucks to clean up and remove debris. On Monday 26 January two small sweepers and one large sweeper were out from 6am to 9.30am cleaning up.

There was some damage to bins with one of the large bin storage housings destroyed by the storm and a solar compacting bin was also damaged.

Rangers - On Monday 26 January the Ranger team attended seafront and other affected areas to carry out an inspection of benches and utility boxes as well as other assets and are also carrying out an inspection of playparks to ensure all are safe. The Rangers also dealt with a broken fence at Monastery Woods which was damaged by a fallen tree in the storm.

Neighbourhood Enforcement Team- On Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January the Neighbourhood Enforcement Team carried out regular checks of road closures at both Torre Abbey and Meadfoot ensuring they were being observed. They also found a fallen tree at Youngs Park on Sunday and reported this to the relevant teams.

Highways – Teams from Highways supported the Street Cleansing team clearing up debris from the seafront on Friday 23 January after heavy topping. They closed the seafronts on Friday evening at Livermead, Meadfoot and Torre Abbey. They also dealt with multiple reports of trees blocking highways and paths, with two officers out for six hours.

On Saturday 24 January teams worked to clear gullies on the seafront as the tide dropped, using shovels and brushes to clear a large amount of debris and sand.

There was a delay with clearing up on Saturday due to the suspected ordinance/unexploded bomb so workers moved to Livermead and the Grand Hotel areas to alleviate some traffic congestion, before then reopening the north bound from Wheatridge Lane to the Grand with Kings Drive shut and access from the Grand Hotel closed. Altogether the clean up on Saturday took around ten hours.

On Sunday 25 January Highways spent eight hours clearing debris, and sweeping. Road closures were in place but some drivers ignored the road closures – these are necessary to clear gullies as staff have to physically brush them so it has to be safe for them to do so.

How to report issues

Follow the Met Office for up to date information about Storm Chandra and Devon and Cornwall Police for the latest details on road closures and other safety information.

You can help us by reporting flooding incidents to 01803 701310.

Please note in an emergency flooding situation you would need to call 999.

If you need to report issues such as fallen trees, debris and obstructions you can do this by calling 01803 701310 or via the SWISCo website.