Colin Martin answers a question from a Looe resident: "What is Colin's stance on the 'Looe Flood Defence and Regeneration Scheme'?"
Colin answers: Looe is already one of the most frequently flooded towns in the country and with sea levels predicted to rise by up to a metre over the next century, this will only get worse. No sane investor will spend money on developing or improving a property which is likely to be repeatedly flooded, so the town centre will fall into decline and disrepair as the waters rise. Doing nothing is clearly not an option. But the only thing worse than doing nothing is spending tens of millions of pounds doing "half a job" which doesn't actually provide the long-term certainty and protection the town needs. I totally understand that people have concerns about the disruption which could be caused by a long-term construction project, and by the potential visual impact of the new structures, but the biggest long-term risk to the local economy is the slow death of a town that suffers more and more frequent floods. I am also aware that some people have concerns about the impact on nature within the area of the proposed works. I am open to seeing evidence about this; are the few acres at the mouth of the river really unique? For example some people have raised concerns about the loss of seagrass: This is indeed a wonderful plant, but if we want more of it, there's huge potential to create hundreds of square miles of it around the Cornish coastline.
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