A fresh objection is to be made to the dumping of dredged marine waste in the sea off the Dawlish and Teignmouth coast.

Concerns have already been raised with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which granted the licence to dispose of dredged material from Exmouth Marina about 7km out to sea.

Local residents and the fishing community are worried about the potential harm to marine wildlife and ecology, and the effects on the tourist trade if beaches and water quality are affected by the waste.

Concerns about water sampling process

Now, Teignbridge District Council is to challenge the MMO over its basis for granting the licence, particularly the way the sea water was sampled to assess the effects of the dredging and dumping operation.

On Tuesday, November 3, Teignbridge's executive committee voted unanimously to lobby the MMO to introduce a different sampling method, that would measure the effects on water quality more clearly, by May 2021.

Request will be made to suspend the licence

Dawlish's representative on the committee, Cllr Martin Wrigley, fully supported this, and added that the MMO should be asked to suspend the existing licence until a better sampling system was in place. This was amended to a request that the MMO does not accept any application that is not based on a more representative sampling regime.

Councillors may ask for backing from the Local Government Association, or the local MP Anne Marie Morris.