Block Management in Dawlish
An 82 million pound sea wall, a tide-locked brook and no new housing allocations.
Directors of RMCs and RTM companies in Dawlish, and freeholders there, can hand block, estate and leasehold management to Plymouth Block Management. Tide lock on the Shutterton Brook outfall has led the council to make no further residential allocations in the town, and the open Channel frontage is held behind an 82 million pound sea wall completed in July 2023. Flats make up 22.9 per cent of households, with conversions above the district rate.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Dawlish
Inspect Metalwork on Blocks Near the Front
Dawlish faces the open English Channel, protected by a sea wall completed on 3 July 2023. For a block near the front we would include balconies, railings and fixings in scheduled inspections to catch metalwork corrosion early and plan replacement through the reserve fund.
InspectionsCheck the Dawlish Water Warning Streets
The fluvial warning area names Overbrook, Brook Street, Alexander Road, Brunswick Place, Brookdale Terrace and Piermont Place. For a block on those streets we would register for warnings, confirm flood cover at renewal and keep the claims history in order.
InsurancePlan Reserves for Converted Buildings
Conversions are 5.5 per cent of Dawlish households against 3.5 per cent across Teignbridge, and Dawlish South West carries 229 of them among its 766 flats. For a converted building we would base the reserve fund plan on a survey of its shared roof and structure.
Reserve fundsConfirm Listing in the Dawlish Conservation Area
The Dawlish conservation area covers 47.13 hectares and holds 107 listed entries. There is no Article 4 direction, so we would confirm a block's status before specifying any external work.
ConsentsManaging a Block in Dawlish at a Glance
- Local authority
- Teignbridge District Council
- Authority type
- District, under the county council
- Building control
- Teignbridge District Council Building Control
- County
- Devon
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- From our Plymouth office
- About 33 miles in a straight line
- Setting
- Coastal
What It Costs to Move a Block in Dawlish to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Shoreline Held to 2105 Behind an 82 Million Pound Wall
Open coast on the English Channel, and the defence record shows what that costs. The shoreline management plan holds the line on both units covering the town in all three epochs to 2105, with the stated aim of sustaining protection to the mainline railway. An 82 million pound sea wall was completed on 3 July 2023. It followed a first phase of 80 million from the Colonnades bridge to Kennaway tunnel, opened in 2020. A further 32 million pound netting and fencing programme was announced on 1 April 2022. Dawlish Warren, on the inner estuary side, is by contrast no active intervention. Blocks near the front need balconies, railings and fixings in scheduled inspections for corrosion.
The measurable part of marine exposure is corrosion. A high-salinity coastal atmosphere is category C5-M in the standards, where unprotected steel can lose 200 micrometres in a year. In practice that means the metalwork on a Dawlish block sets the inspection interval, and the reserve fund follows the inspections rather than a standard cycle.
Converted Flats Run Well Above the Teignbridge Rate
Heavily flatted and unusually conversion-heavy. At the 2021 Census 1,582 of the 6,904 households across the two Dawlish wards were flats, 22.9 per cent against a district figure of 13.9. Of those, 1,045 were purpose-built and 380 in a converted or shared house. That conversion share is 5.5 per cent of all households against 3.5 per cent across Teignbridge, and Dawlish South West carries most of it with 229 of its 766 flats. For a converted building, the reserve fund plan should rest on a survey of its shared roof and structure.
Tide Lock Has Halted New Housing Allocations in Dawlish
Two mechanisms, and the council has stopped allocating housing because of one of them. The Environment Agency's fluvial warning area for Dawlish Water names Overbrook, Brook Street, Alexander Road, Brunswick Place, Brookdale Terrace, Piermont Place and the riverside lawn in the town centre. Dawlish is also one of only two designated flood risk areas in the district. The council's critical drainage area records that the Shutterton Brook is unable to drain to the estuary through its outfall because of tide lock. Its 2026 local plan makes no further residential allocations in Dawlish as a result. Blocks on the named streets need warnings registered and flood cover confirmed at renewal.
Three Conservation Areas, and None at Dawlish Warren
Three areas in the parish, and none of them is Dawlish Warren, which has no conservation area at all. Dawlish itself was designated on 2 June 1997 and covers 47.13 hectares, with an appraisal and management plan adopted in May 2008. Holcombe Village dates from November 1972 at 1.5 hectares and Holcombe Coastal from February 2013 at 4.78 hectares. The appraisal counts 107 listed entries inside the Dawlish area, of which one is grade II star, St Gregory's church. A block in the town centre should be checked against the boundary and the list before external works are specified.
Class 2 Radon in Twelve of Fourteen Squares
Class 2 of 6, where the maximum radon potential is 1 to 3 per cent of homes above the action level. Twelve of the fourteen kilometre squares over the town return class 2 and two return class 1. Radon therefore belongs in a block's compliance record.
New Local Plan Adopted May 2026, Still No Article 4
Decided under the Teignbridge Local Plan 2020 to 2040, adopted on 19 May 2026, with the Dawlish policies of the previous 2013 to 2033 plan remaining extant. There is no made neighbourhood plan, only a designated area. There is no Article 4 direction: the 2008 management plan recommends one but none was made. External works on a block are therefore judged against the local plan, the conservation area and listing.
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Dawlish Questions
Why Is the Council Not Allocating New Homes in Dawlish?
Its critical drainage area records that the Shutterton Brook cannot drain to the estuary through its outfall because of tide lock, and the 2026 local plan makes no further residential allocations in Dawlish as a result. Dawlish is also one of only two designated flood risk areas in the district, and the Dawlish Water warning area covers several town centre streets.
Is Dawlish Warren in a Conservation Area?
No. The parish has three conservation areas: Dawlish itself, designated on 2 June 1997 and covering 47.13 hectares with an appraisal adopted in May 2008, Holcombe Village from November 1972 and Holcombe Coastal from February 2013. Dawlish Warren has none. The appraisal counts 107 listed entries in the Dawlish area, with St Gregory's church the only one at Grade II*.
What Is the Long-Term Policy for the Dawlish Sea Front?
The shoreline management plan holds the line on both units covering the town in all three epochs to 2105, with the stated aim of protecting the mainline railway. An 82 million pound sea wall was completed on 3 July 2023 after an 80 million pound first phase opened in 2020. Dawlish Warren, on the inner estuary side, is no active intervention.
Nearby Areas
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