WORK has begun in the Seaton River Valley to reroute the river in order to protect the nearby road from further erosion.

The Cornwall Council scheme involves the realignment of the river in one section of the valley to direct it away from the B3247 that links Hessenford with Seaton.

A reinforced embankment is also being built along this part of the road.

There were fears initially that the work could mean the loss of part of the popular path through the valley, but the Council has assured people that the route will remain.

’Most of the work can be undertaken from the highway,’ said a spokesperson for Cornwall Council.

’There has already been temporary traffic management on the road from Hesenford to Seaton for some time, and the current traffic arrangement should not differ.

‘The scheme is likely to take up to 14 weeks and we are working closely with the Environment Agency throughout.’

A local person who lives next to the Seaton Valley Countryside Park said that he had seen a digger in the valley on August 15, and that the fence into the park had been removed in order to allow access for the Cormac works vehicle because the gate was too narrow. On Sunday August 15 residents were shocked to see around 100 cars parked on the grassy area of the nature reserve: drivers took advantage of the gap in the fence to enter the park after finding the car park full.

Cornwall Council said that it had been notified of the sighting of the digger and was looking into the matter.