I recently visited the Exmouth station of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI). I spoke to the duty watchkeepers and met station manager Ivor Jones who talked about their work alongside HM Coastguard and the RNLI.
NCI Exmouth keeps watch over the estuary and the beach 365 days a year from a lookout above the Harbour View Café on Queen’s Drive. The Exe estuary can succumb to strong winds, swells and streams that present unique hazards to the marine craft and bathers that use it daily.
Exmouth RNLI and Sidmouth Lifeboat also serve East Devon. Both services are provided through volunteers and supported by public donations and subscriptions.
Charitable independence is so important. You may remember that this very independence allowed the RNLI to rightly say that they make no apology for saving lives of all those in danger in the Channel.
Along the coast, Sidmouth Lifeboat is an independent charity with volunteer crew on service 24/7 covering an area of approximately 150 square miles of sea between Axmouth and Budleigh. Neither part of, nor funded by the RNLI, they rely on the generosity of our local community. Recent call outs involved searching for a vulnerable missing person on the shoreline, rescuing a child who was in difficulty while kayaking, and towing a broken-down vessel to harbour.
After the recent senseless vandalism to NCI Exmouth equipment, these charities need to know that we support their heroic efforts to keep people safe at sea.
Finally, I have received some emails asking what steps the government is taking to stop water companies putting sewage into the sea during periods of heavy rainfall.
The core problem is outdated Victorian infrastructure that combines sewage and rainwater. It cannot keep pace with heavy rain. That’s why I supported the phasing out of storm overflows through the Environment Bill. I couldn’t support an amendment that would have put up customer bills overnight or risked sewage backing up into people’s homes.
We need more than warm words, we need a proper plan and that’s what I voted for. You can read more about this on my website: simonjupp.org.uk
This column first appeared in the Exmouth Journal on Wednesday 27th October 2021 and in the Sidmouth Herald and Midweek Herald later in the week.