A PLAN to stop a road collapsing into the sea is being held back by red tape, it is claimed.

The road leading to Eskmeals Gun Range, near Bootle, is seven feet away from the highest water level during a storm.

Fears are mounting that one or two extreme waves will result in the road falling into the sea.

Gun range managers QinetiQ plans to install concrete blocks on the beach to protect the road, but needs permission from “a number of parties” before the work can be carried out.

A QinetiQ spokeswoman said: “The deterioration of the road is a concern for QinetiQ, which operates the MOD Eskmeals Range, as well as for others in the community, including local authorities.

“We are more than happy to work with people to try to find a solution. However, we cannot act without the permission of the relevant authorities, such as those ultimately responsible for the road or the local environment.

“One suggested interim solution, to help reinforce the existing sea defences with surplus concrete blocks from MOD Eskmeals, would also require permission and approval from a number of parties before it can proceed.”

Bootle villagers braved the freezing weather on Thursday to meet Copeland Borough Council officials and gun range manager David Harrison in a plea to save the Eskmeals road. Villagers are now demanding that something be done.

Mr Harrison offered the use of 100 concrete blocks, known as Pendine blocks, to help with the protection.

But Mr Harrison said similar efforts in the past had been blocked, as the act would be classed as fly-tipping.

Mr Harrison said: “There is a short-term solution there, that will buy more time to deal with the road.”

Lead campaigner and Bootle parish councillor Trudy Harrison said: “The on-site beach meeting in Bootle was organised to highlight the plight of residents and local businesses. The road is but two storms away from falling into the sea. As one of only one of a few beaches in the National Park, it should be preserved and treasured. I doubt its current condition fits the criteria for a world-class tourist destination.

“However, the meeting was hopeful and positive.

“I will be pursuing a meeting with the National Park Authority, Copeland Borough Council, the Highways Agency and the Environment Agency to find a sensible, low-cost solution to this urgent problem.

“Let’s hope when free materials, machinery, labour and local need are highlighted, we can move forward with a pro-active approach.”

Bootle farmer Casson Fox said: “If you put those blocks down now, I can guarantee that road will still be there in 10 years’ time.”

The need for the road is highlighted in the Bootle Community Plan, which was launched to spearhead the village’s economic survival.

The road has been left unprotected in line with the government’s Shoreline Management Plan which has a “no action” policy on the road.

The plan outlines which shorelines around the country should be protected and which ones should not be. Bootle Parish Council will officially stand against the plan at a meeting with the borough council in Muncaster on February 11.

Robert Morris-Eyton, land agent for Stubb Place Farm, which sits yards from the threatened road, said: “The problem is there are so many agencies in involved. We need to sit everyone round a table and thrash this out. “Eskmeals employs vasts amount of people. It is an important business in the area.”

A spokesman for the county council said QinetiQ would need permission from the borough council, and not from the county council, for defences to be put on the beach. The borough council’s flood and coastal engineer David Bechelli refused to talk to the Evening Mail at the site on Thursday. Ian Curwen, press officer for the borough council, was unavailable for comment.

Story in the North West Evening Mail