Final phase of Dawlish rail scheme 'currently not funded' despite previous Conservative promises

The final phase of the decade-long project to improve the rail line between Dawlish and Teignmouth is "currently not funded", despite the previous Conservative government promising it was.

Labour was recently warned not to take its eye off the project, called the South West Resilience Programme, which promised train passengers a more resilient rail line after it was effectively washed away in a storm in 2014.

But in a letter seen by ITV West Country, the Rail Minister Lord Hendy has since told Labour MPs that the fifth and final phase is not guaranteed and will be subject to a spending review.

The work was intended to stabilise the cliffs on the 1.8km stretch between Parson's Tunnel and Teignmouth.

So far, £165m has been spent on the 10-year scheme, which has seen the completion of a new sea wall and improvements to Dawlish station.

In October last year, the Conservatives promised that the funding had been set aside for the work to be completed.

The former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, after cancelling HS2, said the programme would be completed "in full, delivering our commitment to the South West to make the vital route between Exeter and Plymouth through Dawlish more resilient in the face of extreme weather."

The cash was allegedly from the Network North fund, a £36 billion pot created with funds reallocated from the cancellation of a high speed rail line between the West Midlands and Manchester.

But Lord Hendy said: "This work is expected to cost substantially more than the other four phases combined and is currently not funded. However, it will be considered as part of the multi-year Spending Review.

"The Secretary of State is conducting a thorough review of the previous government's transport plans to ensure that our transport infrastructure portfolio drives economic growth and delivers value for money for taxpayers.

"Decisions about individual projects, including the final phase of the SWRRP, will be informed by the review process and confirmed in due course."

In Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 11 December, Sir Keir Starmer said the previous government "made lots and lots of promises, but never set aside the money to pay for them."

Martin Wrigley, Newton Abbot's Liberal Democrat MP, told ITV West Country: "This is the major line that needs doing. I've been working on this since I was a Dawlish town councillor."

He added: "This is really important. This is not only a fundamental existential survival for Dawlish, it's for the entire Devon and Cornwall rail system. Without this, as we saw in 2014, it runs to a halt and we cannot let this final section of the cliffs be the weak link that collapses in the next big storm."

Rebecca Smith, South West Devon's Conservative MP, said, "The last Conservative Government invested £165m to transform the Dawlish seafront and made an explicit commitment in its manifesto to 'deliver upgrades to railways in the South West, including the line through Dawlish'.

"It understood that the remaining work, providing one mile of cliff protection measures between Teignmouth and Parsons Tunnel, was critical to secure our region's rail network. Labour's political choice to put it on hold is further proof that the Southwest is at the bottom of its shopping list."

MPs are due to debate the issue in Westminster, alongside concerns about disruption to passengers in the South West that will be caused by the construction of Old Oak Common station.

Have you heard The Trapped? Listen as Daniel Hewitt exposes the UK's dirty secret.