Exmouth sea wall needs urgent repairs

Works will cost £400,000 or town will lose £6.7 million

Urgent work needs to be carried out on Exmouth's sea wall near the Mamhead slipway - which only two years ago underwent major repair and replacement work, keeping it closed for months. That work cost just over a million pounds - and during it a crack in the sea wall appeared, which had to be stabilised before the job could be completed.

New investigations show the sea wall's at risk of serious structural damage, that could damage the seafront road, the upgraded Mamhead slipway and nearby homes.

On Wednesday, East Devon councillors will be asked to fund a £400,000 project. If they don't, they've been told Exmouth's economy will be £6.7 million worse off over the next 20 years. The piles of the wall near Mamhead slipway are saturated; affecting its stability, the road, the gas mania and nearby residential properties. Do nothing and cause damage and ruin the local economy is the underlying message.

Because of the slope of the estuary, a rock revetment would not remain in situ by itself, the report says. Therefore a line of steel sheet piles set 6 metres off the base of the wall is required to hold a rock revetment in place. The area between the seawall, and steel sheet piles would then be filled in with 2-4t rock armour.The piles and rock armour would need be installed by crane from the slipway and from the slipway turning area to the rear of the seawall.

Work has to begin by 4 September, otherwise wading birds will suffer, the report says. The area lies within the Exe Estuary Special Area of Conservation.