From Mike Bomford, Exeter 382173, February 06, 2008

DEVON County Council's Executive has agreed the terms of reference for conducting an Inquiry in public into the beaching of the MSC Napoli in Lyme Bay last year, and subsequent events.

A period of evidence gathering will begin toward the end of this month, inviting local authorities, Government departments and agencies, businesses and landowners, communities, their elected representatives, environmental and conservation bodies, the general public and any interested party to contribute their views throughout the Spring.

There will a number of ways that people can contribute to the Inquiry:

• The Council will design a dedicated webpage for submissions online;
• Inquiry Response Packs will also be made as widely available as possible from, for example, libraries, local government offices, schools, town and parish councils and local members, for anyone who wishes to make a submission in writing;
• The Council's Community Roadshow vehicle, which attends local events, will provide a further opportunity for people and organisations to submit their contributions to the Inquiry.

All evidence will be catalogued and prepared pending appointment of an independent chairman and committee of Inquiry. The chairman and committee may also invite witnesses to recount or expand upon their written submissions at subsequent hearings in public.

Devon County Council Chief Executive Phil Norrey said: "The events of the past week elsewhere bring home to us that this isn't just about the Napoli as a one-off incident. This is about the genuine issue of the impact of shipping on the coastline of Devon. We are looking to conduct the inquiry later this year when the salvage operation will have been substantially completed. Whilst there is no doubt that the courageous work of the salvage team prevented a catastrophic pollution incident, there remains a major question as to why the Napoli came to be grounded off the East Devon coast; one of the most environmentally sensitive in the world. The focus of the inquiry will be to ensure a similar incident can't happen in future."

Councillor Brian Greenslade, Leader of Devon County Council, said: "This has been a worrying incident and I'm glad we as an authority are doing as we promised with this inquiry. We have been very lucky, especially as this is our most sensitive coastline, and although it's taken longer than we thought it's time to get going. There are serious questions that need answering and recent incidents show this is of concern to us here in Devon. The public inquiry into Foot and Mouth in 2001 was very much a sign of Devon County Council performing its leadership role and I'm sure we can do another good job for our community in respect of this."

Councillor Margaret Rogers, Executive Member for Environment and local Branscombe resident, said: "This event has touched the lives of people in Branscombe and communities along the Jurassic coastline of Devon. It is right that the County Council as a community leader provides an opportunity for people to share their views and experiences arising from the beaching of the Napoli, so that we can help ensure that incidents like these do not happen in the future and if, regrettably, any do occur then everyone would be better prepared to deal with such an emergency."

The County Council gained support from neighbouring District and County Councils to lead an independent Inquiry, following the Government's decision last year not to do so. The Inquiry will follow a similar process to the County Council-led Inquiry into the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001; recommendations and lessons learned from that Inquiry were also adopted in national contingency plans.

Notes for Editors:

Councillor Brian Greenslade, 01271 372065.

Councillor Margaret Rogers, 01297 680384.