DISTRICT engineers have admitted there is no back-up plan if multi-million pound funding is not secured to protect Lyme’s East Cliff.

Phase IV of West Dorset District Council’s coastal protection works will safeguard roads, businesses, homes and utilities from coastal erosion.

The £21million scheme was last month given technical approval by the Environment Agency, but project leaders remained cautious over securing the funding from Defra.

Now, principal engineer Nick Browning has admitted there is no ‘plan B’ if Defra does not offer the anticipated £16million.

Mr Browning said Defra might make changes to the funding of coastal schemes, which would affect the funding for Lyme Regis.

The council can only apply for funding from the Government department once tenders have been received for the construction work, which is likely to be winter 2012.

Concerns over funding were at the top of the agenda at last Thursday’s Coastal Forum meeting in the Marine Theatre.

One resident asked if Defra could give the council any assurances that it would get the £16million.

Mr Browning said they could have no assurances and until then the district council would be funding the work.

“The local ratepayers are in fact financing the work,” he said.

Church Street resident Duncan Lay, of the East Cliff Residents Association, asked if there was a ‘plan B’.

Mr Browning said: “The reality of the situation is there isn’t actually a ‘do nothing’ option for Lyme Regis. If we don’t get the comprehensive scheme they will end up doing a series of emergency works for 30 or 40 years.”

If nothing is done at East Cliff, within 50 years around 144 properties would be destroyed and a further 342 properties would lose access, land or utilities.

Mr Lay asked if the district council could dip into its £30million reserves if necessary.

Mr Browning responded by saying the council would not be willing to commit several millions of pounds for the sake of 140 homes.

“The council is willing to contribute £600,000 and forward fund so if it knows it’s getting the money back in two years, it’s prepared to supply £2million over a two-year period,” he said.

Dorset County Council has committed up to £4.3million as the scheme will protect vital transport and infrastructure links in the east of the town.

Story by Adrianne Maslen in the Lyme Regis News

PROPOSALS to protect Lyme’s East Cliff have been approved by the Environment Agency – but project leaders remain cautious over securing multi-million-pound funding.

The agency has given technical approval to West Dorset District Council’s phase four works, a £21million scheme to protect roads, businesses, homes and utilities from coastal erosion.

It means the council can appoint consultants to produce detailed designs and carry out environmental mitigation work ahead of construction. The design and advance works are estimated to cost the authority in the region of £2million.

Principal engineer Nick Browning said: “Technical approval means we can go ahead with finishing the detailed design and getting tenders for the main construction contract back. Once we get the tenders back we will apply for financial approval.

“We are still trying to clarify exactly what that means with the Environment Agency.

“The reason it’s a bit uncertain is because Defra has been issuing consultation papers about various things and one of the things covered is funding of coastal schemes.

“What we are concerned about is that Defra may indicate changes to the funding of coastal schemes, which would affect the funding for Lyme Regis.

It’s very good news that we have got the approval, but we are still being a bit cautious about what that means in terms of funding.”

The council will apply for £16million from Defra, while Dorset County Council has committed up to £4.3million as the scheme will protect vital transport and infrastructure links in the east of the town.

Robert Gould, district council leader and cabinet member for the environment for the county council, said: “We have been working extremely hard on making this scheme happen for a number of years and this is an extremely significant step towards securing funding and starting work.”

Planning permission has already been secured and work is expected to start in spring 2013, taking around two years to complete.

Mr Browning said tenders for the construction work would be returned by winter 2012 and the council could then apply to Defra for funding.

He added: “We are looking at ways of getting earlier financial approval if we can.” If nothing is done at East Cliff, within 50 years around 144 properties would be destroyed and a further 342 properties would lose access, land or utilities.

Plans include building 390 metres of new seawall together with piling and drainage. Mr Browning will attend Lyme Regis Town Council’s coastal forum meeting in the Marine Theatre on Thursday, March 17 at 7pm to give details about the works.

Story by Adrianne Maslen in the Bridport and Lyme Regis News

FLOOD and coastal erosion risks in shoreline areas will be outlined in a series of public exhibitions in March.

The Environment Agency will invite Bournemouth, Poole, Wareham and Swanage residents to hear plans for tackling flood and erosion risks over the next century.

The impact of climate change will also be explained, along with various options for managing these risks.

The Environment Agency has been working with authorities on a Flood and Coastal Erosion risk management strategy, covering shorelines and communities from Hengistbury Head to Durlston Head. The public will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns on the matter.

The exhibitions will be held at the Community Room, Branksome Dene on March 7, The Lighthouse, Poole on March 8, and the Town Hall, Wareham on March 9.

Story in the Bournemouth Echo

Read the Poole and Christchurch Bays Shoreline Management Plan (Hurst Spit to Durlston Head)

Funding for vital flood defence schemes in the South West is to be cut by 16 per cent next year, the Government has confirmed.

But officials refused to produce a list of projects that will not get state aid as a result of the region losing £6 million in 2011/12.

Ministers announced that £521 million would be spent on protecting homes and businesses in England from April.

It is down from around £590million spent on capital and revenue in previous years. Of this, £34 million has been allocated to the wider South West – an area that includes Devon and Cornwall as well as Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset.

It represents a 16 per cent drop from the previous year’s allocation of £40 million.

Labour claims ministers are taking a “reckless gamble with people’s homes and businesses” as many schemes had been cancelled nationally.

As the devastation in recent years wrought on Boscastle, North Cornwall; Ottery St Mary, East Devon; and mid Cornwall indicate, the Westcountry is particularly susceptible to flooding.

While funding has decreased, the Environment Agency, the quango that oversees the projects, insisted major schemes in the region would go ahead.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs produced an “indicative” list of 33 projects in Devon and Cornwall that are in line for the Whitehall cash.

They include ongoing big schemes such as tidal defences in Shaldon, South Devon, on Teignmouth estuary and in Truro, which will provide protection to hundreds of properties.

The South West Regional Flood Defence Committee is to decide precisely which schemes get how much money over the next few months.

Geoff Boyd, flood and coastal risk manager for the Environment Agency in the South West, said: “We will continue to protect as many homes and businesses as we can. We have plans to work on 147 river and coastal flood defence schemes in the next financial year which, when completed, will increase protection to thousands of homes.”

The coalition Government says it has done its utmost to shield spending on flood defences in the spending review.

The Government expects to spend at least £1.2 billion on flooding and coastal erosion over the next four years and improve protection for at least 145,000 homes, environment minister Richard Benyon said.

“Inevitably, it has been necessary to find savings in all areas of Government expenditure,” he added.

From the following year, the Government will introduce a new funding mechanism where the state will not pay 100 per cent of the costs, which ministers hope will bring more schemes forward.

Mary Creagh, Shadow Environment Secretary, said: “The Tory-led Government are taking a reckless gamble with people’s homes and businesses by cutting the flood defence budget by 27 per cent in cash terms.”

In the House of Commons, Stephen Gilbert, Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Newquay, whose constituency was battered by floods last year, received assurances from ministers on funding for flood plans and wardens.

He said: “In St Blazey last year, we saw that community flood plans and volunteer flood wardens were able to help protect property and people.”

Story in the West Briton

COMMUNITIES in Dorset are being asked for their say on how the Environment Agency protects them from floods and coastal erosion over the next 100 years.

The agency says that local knowledge and experience are key to holding back Mother Nature as sea levels rise.

It is launching the Poole Bay, Poole Harbour and Wareham Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy, which follows a broader study that looked at flood risk and erosion between Hengistbury Head and Durlston Head.

Now, working with councils in Dorset, it is looking in more detail at what needs to be done.

Steve Rendell, from the Environment Agency, said: “We are doing this to work out the best way to protect communities and the environment into the future as sea levels rise.”

The aim now is to develop general policies into plans that detail solutions in areas that need work.

Mr Rendell added: “Once it is completed and approved, the strategy will guide much of the flood, coast, beach and wildlife habitat protection work that we and the local authorities do in this area in the future.”

The scheme will also include decisions on where to create new wildlife habitats to compensate for losses caused by rising seas.

Mr Rendell said: “In meeting these objectives, we will take into consideration the impact on people and the environment along this coast and within Poole Harbour, and the cost of implementing any measures.

“We will also take account of the views and concerns of local people and organisations.

“It is essential that the strategy adequately reflects the issues and concerns of the communities, businesses and organisations which have an interest in this coastline. We need to make sound decisions based on the best available information, science and expert opinion.”

To register an interest, e-mail PooleandWarehamStrategy@atkinsglobal.com, or write to Steve Rendell, Environment Agency, Manley House, Kestrel Way, Exeter, EX2 7LQ.

Story by Stephen Smith in the Bournemouth Echo

A COMMITMENT has been made to raise the £21million needed to protect Lyme’s eastern side from coastal erosion.

Phase 4 of West Dorset District Council’s coastal protection works in the town will protect roads, public utilities, businesses and homes from the more serious effects of erosion and associated ground movement.

If the work were not carried out 144 properties would be destroyed within 50 years and a further 342 properties would lose their access.

Around 900 metres of Charmouth Road and Church Street the main road into the town, and its facilities would also be lost.

District councillors last week approved proposed funding arrangements to raise the £21,348,000 needed to pay for the design and construction.

The report that went before the district council’s full council meeting last Thursday recommended applying for Government approval and Defra funding.

It also recommended completing discussions with Dorset County Council about its contribution, and asked the district council to set aside £600,000 towards the work, as the scheme would also protect council assets such as the car park and road.

The district council will seek to re-coup the cost by securing section 106 contributions – funding for public open spaces and amenities, or benefits in kind – from developers in Lyme Regis.

But the council has also accepted that the work may impact on council tax levels, either if actual costs exceed the grant contributions, or if section 106 contributions are lower than expected.

Planning permission for the work was secured in April and work could begin in spring 2012, with completion expected in two years.

Engineers are recommending building 390 metres of new seawall, designed to have minimum impact on the foreshore geology, together with piling, drainage and other work to strengthen the coastal slopes.

West Dorset District Council leader Robert Gould said: “We are committed to providing long-term security for Lyme Regis and the people who live and work there.”

Story by Adrianne Maslen in the Lyme Regis News

Work on a £20m project to safeguard about 140 properties in a Dorset town from falling into the sea is scheduled to start in spring 2012.

The Lyme Regis coastal erosion scheme aims to stop roads, public utilities, firms and homes in the east of the town from being destroyed in 50 years’ time.

West Dorset District Council said part of the A3052, the main road into the town, is also at risk.

It said engineers have recommended building a 390m seawall.

A council spokesman said: “[The wall would be] designed to have minimum impact on the foreshore geology, together with piling, drainage and other work to strengthen the coastal slopes.”

‘Worst landslip’

The scheme includes “extensive landscaping to restore the natural habitat and reinstate the private gardens affected by the work”.

Planning permission for the work was secured in April and councillors recently approved proposed funding arrangements to raise the £21,000,000 needed to pay for the design and construction.

A report put before a full council meeting recommended applying for government approval and Defra funding.

The study also said discussions with Dorset County Council about its contribution needed to be completed.

The district council is expected to set aside £600,000 towards the work.

West Dorset council leader Robert Gould said: “We are committed to providing long-term security for Lyme Regis and the people who live and work there.”

In May 2008, about 400m (1,312ft) of cliff slipped between Lyme Regis and Charmouth, exposing an old landfill site.

Described as the “worst landslip for 100 years” in Dorset, it closed a beach.

The earth movement, the length of four football pitches, affected part of the 95-mile (153-km) Dorset and east Devon Jurassic Coast.

Story on the BBC website

RESIDENTS living in the most unstable part of Lyme Regis have welcomed the news that plans to protect the East Cliff have been approved by district planners.

The £20million plans to stop the town’s eastern flank from slipping into the sea went before West Dorset District Council’s development control committee last week.

It is the next major step in work to improve the landslip areas at Church and East Cliffs and protect the town, its infrastructure and historic structures.

District officers approved the scheme last Thursday in order safeguard around 144 homes, roads and services from coastal erosion and associated ground movement.

Residents living just metres away from the cliff edge are delighted with the news, but they realise there is a long way to go yet to secure their homes.

The district council must now apply to the Environment Agency and Government for approval and the £20million needed.

Sheila Poupard has lived at Cliff Edge, East Cliff, for 12 years but has lived in and around the area for almost 30 years.

During the major landslip in the 1970s, neighbouring properties were destroyed and the home she now lives in is just metres away from a sharp drop.

Mrs Poupard, a former town, district and county councillor, said: “Naturally I’m delighted with the news that the planning application for East Cliff has been approved.

“I’ve been involved with the project here for well over 20 years.

“Hopefully, the funding will now be made available to proceed with the plans in the near future.”

The district council said work could begin in spring 2012 at the earliest, with completion expected within two years.

Derek Hallett, of Church Cliff, said: “They are talking about 2014 for completion and it was originally going to be 2012 so we are already behind time.

“But I’m delighted the plans have been approved – we should be able to put the lifejackets away for good.

“I would like to thank the town council, East Cliff residents, and everyone who has worked extremely hard to get this. I think all of Lyme will be delighted.”

Mr Hallett’s partner Susanne Whitemore said: “I’m glad it has been approved – it’s a great relief to know something will be done soon.”

The couple lost 70ft of their garden during the 2003 landslip, which they said was ‘devastating’, and their house now stands just 24ft from the edge of the cliff.

“We’ve had to live with it,” said Mr Hallett. “We weren’t going to move unless we absolutely had to and hopefully we are not going to have to any more.”

Jane Leak has been living at East Cliff for 30 years and only her garden stands between her house and the cliff edge. She said: “I’m quite happy about it, if it’s going to happen, but the less the cliff is poked around with, the better.

“I would like to see it stabilised, providing it is stabilised properly.”

This is Phase 4 of the district council’s ongoing coastal protection works in Lyme and the work will include a new sea wall, slope stabilisation and landscaping, habitat restoration and management.

If nothing is done, Charmouth Road car park, much of Charmouth Road, Church Street, and major underground pipes and cables would be at risk of destruction or serious structural damage within 50 years.

But the scheme will prevent the loss of property and infrastructure for at least another 60 years.

For more information visit www.dorsetforyou.com/lyme

Story by Adrienne Maslen in the Lyme Regis News

‘HOLD the line at Hengistbury Head – or increase the risk of a flooding disaster’.

These men are fighting a proposed change in the coastal protection plan.

They say in time it could lead to the flooding of Christchurch Harbour, and the erosion of Hengistbury Head.

For the last five years, the council’s policy for the beach at the head has been ‘Hold the Line’ – a commitment to keeping or upgrading the sea defences.

The proposed policy for the next five years is ‘Managed Realignment’ – but the Hengistbury residents association fears that could mean defences are left fatally weak.

They are anxiously waiting to see if the Environment Agency approves the change, when the final Shoreline Management Plan is revealed in April.

The group want extra groynes put in between Double Dykes and Long Groyne to reduce erosion and reduce the chances of a sudden breach during a storm.

A consultants’ report says a breach could happen at any time with a bad enough storm – and the group said it would have “disastrous consequences” for people living nearby, and potentially for the whole future of Poole Bay.

Tony Bayliss, 67, building surveyor, said: “The neck of land at Double Dykes is already very narrow and we think that it should be protected from becoming even more flimsy.

“If there is a breach and it is not possible to stop up the new tidal stream, the Long Groyne at Hengistbury Head will be unable to do its job.

“Without the Long Gryone acting as a headland for Poole Bay, there will be huge erosion forces along the sea wall and promenades.”

Cllr Robert Lawton, cabinet member for Environment, said: “For the majority of Bournemouth’s coastline, including all the built-up area and Hengistbury Head, the policy is to ‘Hold the line’. “We are proposing to do all we can to ensure that we protect our coastline for future generations and the Shoreline Management Plan is crucial to achieving this.”

Story by Stephen Bailey in the Bournemouth Echo

DORSET’S Jurassic Coast is set to benefit from a £376,500 cash injection to help combat erosion and rising sea levels posed by climate change.

Dorset County Council environment chiefs teamed up with their East Devon counterparts to bid for a share of millions of pounds of Government cash.

The cash will be used on projects to benefit Preston Beach in Weymouth, Ringstead, Charmouth, Seatown and Swanage.

Hilary Cox, Dorset’s cabinet member for environment, said: “We are delighted that our bid has been successful.

“The coastal communities of Dorset and East Devon have lived with dynamic change for generations but it is clear that the risks and impacts from erosion, storms and rising sea levels are going to increase in future.”

The money, from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) Coastal Change Pathfinder Fund, will be used to support a range of activities aimed at helping communities along the Jurassic Coast to better understand and adapt to the perceived impacts of coastal change.

The cash won’t be going on physically upgrading sea defences but will bankroll strategies and contingency plans for ‘at risk’ areas.

This includes using state-of-the-art media to highlight the extent of coastal erosion, establishing ‘coastal change champions’ to shape debate at local level and developing training programmes for conservationists.

Swanage is one of six sites in Dorset and East Devon highlighted as most vulnerable to climate change.

The other fives areas are located further west from Purbeck.

Coun Cox added: “The funding will help take the future discussions we are having with the communities most at risk from these changes to a new level, helping us to visualise what change may look like and develop options to adapt.”

Last May a huge landslide destroyed 400 metres of world heritage coastline near Lyme Regis.

Story by Diarmuid MacDonagh in the Dorset Echo