ENVIRONMENT Secretary Michael Gove was in Dawlish Warren today to open the resort’s new £12 million flood defence scheme which could reduce flood risks to nearly 3,000 homes and businesses in the Exe estuary area.

In a statement he said: ‘Dawlish Warren is only one of 350 new defence schemes built since 2015. Work continues on schemes across the country, all of which are helping to bring peace of mind to communities as well as investment and opportunities.’

Mr Gove was expected to use his visit to announce work starting next year on another £12 million initiative on the opposite side of the estuary at Exmouth.

Dawlish Warren’s new flood defences rope in a 100 metre-long wall and some 200,000 cubic metres of sand to protect the resort and ­surrounding areas as well as conserving the flourishing habitats of birds and wildlife.

The two projects on either side of the Exe are part of the Government’s £115 million investment to alleviate flood anxieties around some 15,000 properties in Devon and Cornwall by 2021.