Dawlish Discussion

It doesn't do the poop pond justice in the photo's, but it is very difficult to navigate through the gate without getting a liberal coating of fermented cow poop all over your foot wear and legs. god forbid you actually slipped and fell in it.

Does anyone know who to possibly contact to rectify this pond, it has been steadily growing in size and depth for a couple of weeks now? any assistance would be appreciated.

I believe there is whatt looks like a water stop cock, mini man hole cover, on the other side of the gate, which could be the pipe that is leaking.

As this is effectively blocking the footpath contact Councillor Alison Foden, Chair of the civic amenities committee, and ask her to deal with the issue. Footpaths come under the civic amenities committee. 

@Margaret Swift - many thanks for the info.

Is that Dawlish Footpath 14? 

So after contacting the town council and them contacting sw water this is the result as of the 06th August 2017. Not surprised!

This is an important access point for those that wish to use the path. The only other route, without trespassing, is diagonally across the field and an extended walk through an  overgrown lane, that some would find difficult to navigate.

Dawlish is a tourist destination that is slowly being destroyed bit by bit by the very people the Dawlish residents pay to manage it. This is just one of many issues that are not being given the due effort to resolve in a timely manner. Tick tock tick, tock the holiday season is short and every year, i would suspect, more people are put off coming back to Dawlish, such a shame for what is a beautiful place..if only.

If its mains water leaking could it be the farmers supply, and it's only been two days SWW could take 7 to 14 days to respond patience people it's not the end of the world.

@leatash - i don't know what calendar you use, but mine show that the 05/07/2017 to the 06/08/2017 is a little more than 2 day's. you must have very looooonnnnnnnnnngggggggggg weekends, i'm jealous.

Whoops the trouble with retirement days just blend into each other.

Looking at the area on google it looks a very wet corner in the field a natural spring???

@leatash - i assume you are being humorous, it's been dry in that corner, except for heavy rain, for at least 15 years i know off. the stand pipe manhole cover might give the game away, that resides a few feet from the obstruction, to a few as the source of the pool.

So do a lot of tourists use this path i know this path and the times i have used it there's never been a soul in sight.

Current condition of access through footpath gate 13 08 2017:-

I e-mailed the contact in the council last week and have rec'd no reply, what a surprise...not!

I have some size 9 wellies.

From looking at the posts above it seems the council (which council? town council? district council? devon county council?) has actioned the complaint made by Deedoodle. The matter has been referred on to South West Water whose responsibility it seems it is.

So perhaps it is SWW that needs chasing up not any particular councillor, or council. 

Could it not be a farmers supply for a drinking trough if it was it would be a metered supply and the farmers responsibility  seems a lot of fuss over a bit of mud.

@leatash, lynne - see margaret swift's entry at 05 july 2017 10:14hrs.

I pay my rates and I expect those who receive it at a local council level, as their, pay, to do a resonable job for the residents of Dawlish.

I use this path on a regular basis and would expect that, coming up on six weeks, after contacting the local council the issue would have either been resolved and/or I would have been advised of the progress.

You may jest about this as a lot of fuss over a bit of mub - leatash, but this is just the tip of the mudberg with the problems with Dawlish's spiralling collapse as both a tourist attraction and a decent place to live and bring up a family. As to the size 9 wellies, leatash, you know where you can put them!

Well i have been a resident for over 30 years and believe me you will not change anything i have battled to get things resolved with very little effect Dawlish is Dawlish it wont change.  Its still a great place to live but slowly each year its dying a bit more and the odd thing is nobody cares.  The reasons for this have been talked about on this forum for years the old guard are in charge and its not going to change any time soon.

@DEEDOODLE - have you tried contacting devon county cllr john clatworthy? he might be able to give the county council's public right of way officer(s) a nudge to try and get sorted out with sww.

And/or send the pictures and your complaint to the Gazette?   

Hi, I'm the footpath officer with the Teignmouth & Dawlish Ramblers. I contacted the local DCC footpath warden who sent me this reply yesterday:

Please see below the response from SWW concerning the muddy surface to Dawlish FP 14.  I have yet to get more detailed information from them and will return to site to investigate more extensively myself.

On my initial inspection of 13 July, following a report from Cllr Foden, I met the tenant farmer who stated it was a water main leak as opposed to a private supply, which is why I reported the leak to SWW.  In the light of their response, another visit is required.  My original inspection followed a period of dry weather which would suggest the surface condition is caused by underground water as much as by cattle poaching.  Here is no reason for cattle to congregate at the kissing gate other than for shade, as there is no apparent drinking trough nearby.

I have read the posts on Dawlish.com and fully appreciate the inconvenience caused to the majority of walkers, however I hope that you will understand that resolution is not as straightforward as I would like. Should it prove that the leak is on a private supply, it may take longer to repair than a public main.  I am reluctant to install a boardwalk or similar to facilitate a drier passage in the short term, as invariably such structures are damaged by cattle.  To import stone and drain the area would be another option although costly to implement.

I will inform of my findings in due course.

Kind regards,

Jon

Hi Johnathan

Sue from SW Water called re  the water leak that you reported to them yesterday regarding Meadowbank Rd  Caller states that they have been out to have a look and there are no water leaks at the location and that they have said it is to do with cattle congressing at this location .Caller states that has sent you an email which has their contact details on if you need to contact them back .

Regards

Sue

It's Meadow Park not Meadowbank Rd and a few tons of pebbles/hardcore, not expensive and certainly not difficult todo, would alleviate the bog so people could walk over it without sinking into 8 inches of slurry. 

So I contact Alison Foden, via e-mail, on the 6th July(initial contact date) - the DCC footpath warden inspects the site on the 13th July - 13th August I e mail Alison Foden again as I have heard nothing from her - I contacted SWW myself and explained the situation. They advised the they had checked the location and it was cattle congregating not a mains water leak! They are going to have another look. It's now the 19th August and no feedback............ sigh!  CASE NUMBER FOR SOUTHWEST WATER IS 4952748 THERE TELEPHONE NUMBER IS 03333 211107.

Its just a bit of mud for gods sake and it is the country all said and done.  How about asking COMMON SENSE, he would know !!!

Can't - he's dead (or should that be 'she'?...............)

DEEDOODLE there are more pressing problems than a bit of mud on a footpath ie we have a main road the A379 that in places is not fit for purpose and thousands use on a daily basis and has been like it for years. Iwill ask a question why is it we cant get the A379 Exeter Road resurfaced and yet any day soon Coryton Close is being resurfaced.

Well done Lynne.

Public foot path's which I assume this is, is the responsibility of DCC. Dawlish TC should know this and should have redirected the complainer of this problem to them. I seem to rember that the duck wardens at one stage where clearing the over grown hedges on behalf of DCC, so maybe they should have a looksee, to see if they can do anything about it.

here is the link to DCC public rights of way.

http://map.devon.gov.uk/dccviewer/MyLocalPaths/

Maybe someone more skilled than I, can determine what type of pathway it is.

Good map, and it is a lot cheaper the OS.

More info about public rights of ways (PROWS) here.

http://www.devon.gov.uk/prow_public_rights_and_responsibilities.pdf

No mention of mud.

@leatash - 19 aug 2017 13:51 - i agree there are more pressing matters affecting the local area that is supposed to be effectively managed by the local/district council. the 'bit of mud' is in and surrounding the access, it effectively closes the path and has been like this for nearly 7 weeks since i contacted the council.

Yes, it may be South West water who should resolve the matter, but the lack of update from the council(s) is just demonstrative of their lack of ability to effectively manage even the simplest of issue. Not that it stops them earning more than average wage for a mediocre performance and spending vast amounts of money on white elephants, in my opinion.... and before anyone says it I know the money comes from a different pot, but all comes from the same source.

leatash you wrote, "DEEDOODLE there are more pressing problems than a bit of mud on a footpath ie we have a main road the A379 that in places is not fit for purpose and thousands use on a daily basis and has been like it for years. Iwill ask a question why is it we cant get the A379 Exeter Road resurfaced and yet any day soon Coryton Close is being resurfaced."

Probably the reason being, one is either the responsibility of Teignbridge District Council or even Network Rail and the other by Devon County Council.

Well thats not the reason both are the responsibility of Devon County Council.

So why not ask our county councillor, John Clatworthy, to answer the question?    

Footpaths are the same all over the country i walk The Dales, Lake District, South West Coast path ,,Pembrokeshire Coast Path, The Lake District, and the Scotish Highlands and i am often up to my ankles in mud it's what real walkers expect.

Well I too am a keen walker and walk all over the country and I do not find myself ankle deep in mud and don't expect to always be ankle deep in mud! Most footpaths are well looked after. I walked up to the path in question last week and in all the years I have walked that path I have never seen it so bad.  DTC need to get it sorted. 

Well i have just completed the Wainwrights, i am half way through the Pennine Way, and the Pemprokeshire Coast Path and i am up to my ankles in mud on a regular basis and thats what i expect when walking, if you want dry feet keep to the roads.

You must just be very unlucky then. I did five long walks last week with barely a puddle or mud in sight and they were all OFF the road! 

Come with me up to the Lakes and i will show you muddy paths and not just a bit here and there miles of your feet in mud and water.

Thank you for this thread. It's prompted me to contact Devon County Council yesterday about the state of Dawlish Bridleway 3, and today I've had an email back from the Public Rights of Way Senior Officer at DCC.  The assessment of the Bridleway is anticipated to be completed by 5th September, and I've got a reference to allow me to check its progress online. Nice and simple, as it should be. 

Why does leatash think Coryton Cove is the responsibilty of DCC, does he/she know something that I don't.

@majorp

I think you mean Coryton Close, which as it is a highway is definitely the responsibility of Devon County Council.

Just to let you all know that I've had an email back from Devon County Council confirming that Dawlish Bridleway 3 has been cleared of overgrowth and upgrowth vegetation.  Great service by the people concerned. 

Poop pond still there as of last night and still impassable.

I raised this issue at the CAC meeting last week, asking the chair to get the issue sorted. I have walked that path three times over the last three weeks and have had to divert through the farmers field as the footpath is impassable. The framer has tried to secure the gate so that too is impassable but with not much success. DTC have an obligation to ensure all footpaths are passable. 

Let's be honest...it's not really a pond....it's a puddle. It's not a perfect situation but if that is one's main gripe in Dawlish to post about I say count your blessings. It's nothing a pair of wellies (or small planks of wood or stepping stones....be proactive!) can't overcome until it either dries out or is sorted out. When local authority money is tight it can be no surprise that there are more pressing priorities than a little used footpath across a cow field. When I walk in a cow field I expect to come across cow poop, wee and puddles and a possible combination of all three.

@Lisa - oh! i feel so empowered now, thankyou for your explanation of my petty little puddle problem. i'm off to the beach to get some pebbles to use as stepping stones. i suppose a £200k+ play area on the lawn is more pressing than maintaining a failing infrastructure by council's that would rather spend millions on worthless and unthought out projects! i.e. millions on a grubby yellow pavement and lack of parking and millions on a cycle path few wanted or will use. that is how one feels.

I never said your concern was petty. I simply said in the general scheme of things an inconvenient messy puddle in a cow field is never going to be a priority and there are some simple temporary solutions. I personally don't see the puddle as being part of the failing infrastructure but I agree that there is failing infrastructure in Dawlish and too much money is wasted on many ill thought out schemes. We (the public) share blame for that as we too often grumble and do nothing proactive like voting in local elections or putting our own heads above the parapet by standing for election ourselves. Perhaps we reap what we sow so to speak.

@Lisa - get a dog and bark yourself, i hear where ur coming from.

Far from being a little puddle it is a huge horrible mess that renders the footpath impassable. If everyone took the view Lisa does then we wouldn't have any footpaths at all and the farmers would be delighted as many do NOT like walkers tramping through their fields along legitimate footpaths. 

My view was that it is not a pond but a puddle albeit a messy one (I never said it was a little puddle) and not something likely to receive urgent attention in these strained financial times. I never said it should not be sorted out. I hope it is. I did say it was not ideal but that it would be easily passable with wellies on or by temporarily placing boards or stepping stones until it is sorted out.  It's nonsense to say my view would lead to no footpaths at all when I'm suggesting ways of making the path passable.

Just received the following from the Devon rights of way footpath warden:

I met SWW on site last Friday and having carried out tests, they accept responsibility for the leak and will be repairing it as soon as possible.

 

Once the rising water has stopped, we will be in a position to assess whether importing stone to improve the surface is required.  However, the path remains to be one across stocked fields and thus some degree of cattle activity must be expected, especially where they congregate at gates.

 

With kind regards,

 

Jon

04th July to end of Sept and all that has been resolved is the responsibility for the reason for the puddle appearing, pathetic.

Over the past few years my dealings with the Devon rights of way footpath warden merely bolsters my view of how inept the department/person is when dealing with issues relating to rights of way. The most I have ever witnessed is the odd site visit and not a lot else....nicely paid job and pension I would expect for not a lot of effort.

Not being a serial complainer, I can only go by my single experience with them, and that was faultless in terms of communication, timeliness and execution.  Bridleway 3 was cleared within a fortnight of me highlighting the issue - in my opinion you can’t say fairer than that.