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Millions earmarked for coastal projects
More than £6 million
has been allocated to Scarborough Borough Council for a number of
coastal risk management projects over the next four years.
The funds from the Environment Agency will
help the local authority manage coastal change across the borough
and to lead national projects.
The £6 million is on top of £3 million
which is already being spent on a number of coastal projects in the
borough.
The council’s Head of Technical Services,
John Riby, said: “The announcement by the Environment Agency
demonstrates the level of confidence it has in the council to
manage and deliver coastal risk management projects locally, and on
behalf of others.
“It is a significant slice of funding,
particularly in these austere times, that will ultimately help
communities along our coast cope with natural events like erosion
and coastal cliff instabilty.”
One of the biggest chunks of the funding
will be ploughed into the Strategic Coast Monitoring Programme,
with just over £3 million allocated to the council over the next
five years acting as lead authority for all the coastal councils
from the Scottish Borders to Flamborough Head.
That money will be used by the council to
continue the coastal monitoring and data collection it spearheads
right along the north east coast region.
In terms of the borough, the money is
earmarked for a number of locations including Whitby, Scarborough
and Filey.
Just under £1 million has been allocated
for projects in Filey over the next two years. The Filey Coast
Outflanking Defence Study and associated works are likely to cost
just over £500,000, while £450,000 will go on the Filey Coastal
Slope Study and subsequent cliff stabilisation works.
An investigation into coastal slope ground
movement at Flat Cliffs near Filey has also been funded, with
£160,000 allocated by the Environment Agency.
The northern area of the Borough will
benefit to the tune of almost £500,000 with some significant
investment allocated at Staithes and Whitby.
At Scarborough, the main thrust of the work
will be on the Spa frontage where the Scarborough Coastal Strategy
has identified that it should be the next priority for capital
investment and which will help secure the integrity of the
redeveloped Spa complex, an exciting project which is due for
completion in May of this year.
Ongoing studies – separate from the latest
announcement by the Environment Agency – include the development of
a coastal Strategy for the Robin Hood’s Bay coastline, which sets
out how the coastline between Whitby and Cloughton should be
managed over the next century, including recommendations about how
to manage the impacts of climate change and if, where and how the
council may have to take appropriate action.
Also ongoing is the £1 million “Pathfinder”
project aimed at helping the residents at Knipe Point near Cayton
Bay to adapt to the coastal cliff instability.
Scarborough Borough Council was one of only
a handful of councils nationally which was successful in a bid for
funding to allow an alternate approach to be examined in reducing
the risk to people and property at this location. This funding
would otherwise be unavailable to those residents who would have to
rely solely on their insurance cover and personal savings to
resolve a major issue.
Environment Agency money is also being used
to complete the repair work at the East Pier extension in Whitby,
work which had to be temporarily suspended due to very poor sea
conditions towards the end of last year.
The Agency says it is not able to give any
guarantees nationally about the latest funding for schemes and
studies beyond the short term due to Defra’s current consultation
on changes to funding for flood and coastal risk management.
However, John Riby added: “The council is optimistic it can
continue to work with Defra, the Agency and local stakeholders to
identify the problems and to promote timely and appropriate
solutions which will help reduce the risk to people and property
along its coastline and to monitor and collect contemporary coastal
processes data which build upon the knowledge we have and will
inform future decisions about possible investment in coastal
protection.”