A trip to Madeira reminded me of the effectiveness of concrete tetrapods as sea defences. The photograph above shows some of the thousands around the island.
Locals there described how they absorbed massive amounts of kinetic energy without damage during recent tropical Atlantic storms.
Tetrapods have been used to good effect in Japan, even in areas susceptible to earthquakes. Some report that over half of the Japanese coastline is now protected by them.
Kansai International Airport, which is built on an artificial island atop an unstable sea bed, depends upon them.
Like Madeira, Devon is heavily dependent on tourism, so we should also be looking at how to protect our infrastructure. No road from Kingsbridge to Dartmouth means no tourists there spending money.
Tetrapods are out of patent, relatively cheap and there are plenty of civil engineers around the planet, if not in the South Hams, who know how to use them.
There’s no need for a council fact-finding mission. Just browse the web and YouTube, then talk to a suitably qualified engineer.