Sidmouth rockfalls continue

District Council pauses work

No immediate work will be carried out on Sidmouth’s crumbling cliffs which have seen a spate of collapses in recent weeks.

In the last three weeks, there have been at least four cliff collapses, all on land owned and managed in the East Devon town by the district council.

While work on the Sidmouth and East Beach Management Plan scheme, which aims to reduce the rate of erosion, is being carried out, the cabinet recently voted to pause the current option to review other options now that the scheme is eligible for more government funding.

A spokesman for the council said: “The locations of the recent cliff falls at East Beach/Pennington Point are outside land owned and managed by East Devon District Council. The risk of cliff falls is well signed in this area, so members of the public should adhere to warnings to stay well clear of the cliffs and not access East Beach as it is closed for safety reasons.

“Cliff falls are a natural and unpredictable occurrence along the East Devon coast. This is because the rock from which the cliffs are formed is soft and therefore prone to rock falls and landslides, which can happen at any time, although heavy rainfall can trigger incidences.  We recommend that people enjoy East Devon cliffs from a distance and do not climb or sit directly beneath them. Please always follow the warning signs.

“Work on the Sidmouth and East Beach Management Plan (BMP) scheme continues. It aims to reduce the risk of flooding to Sidmouth by maintaining the standard of defences along Sidmouth beach and to reduce the rate of erosion to the cliffs east of the town (and therefore the rate of exposure of the east side of Sidmouth to coastal conditions).

“The EDDC Cabinet recently voted to pause the current working option to review other possible options now that the scheme is eligible for more government funding. A sub group is currently reviewing the scope for this and will report back at the next BMP advisory group in July. A temporary rock revetment on East Beach and planning permission for this will be explored if the new scheme means a delay to work starting.”

When the cabinet met at the end of March, they voted to place on hold the existing £9 million scheme for the town given that other previously dismissed options may now be affordable.

Councillors agreed that pausing the scheme would enable them to see if a better one can be delivered. Temporary planning permission and installation of rock armour at East Beach would likely be sought in the meantime as the decision to consider alternative options is likely to lead to a delay of up to two years in implementing a final scheme.

The previously agreed plans were to invest in a coastal defence scheme involving beach replenishment, periodic beach recycling, a new rock groyne on East Beach and modifications to the River Sid training wall. It would also include raising the height of the splash wall along the seafront slightly, and then topping it up with temporary storm barriers or strong glass panels when needed.

But now that extra funding for the scheme is available, alternative schemes that had been ruled out due to the cost could be made. In 2017, Sidmouth town councillors had backed a scheme with four additional semi-obscured offshore ‘reefs’ that decrease in size towards the East Beach – but as it cost up to £20 million – the most expensive of all the options – it wasn’t taken forward.

Other options rejected had included modifying the rock groynes at Bedford Steps, York Steps and East Pier Rock into ‘T’ shapes, a slope of large boulders will be placed next to the seawall, and the removal of the current rock groynes on the beach with more breakwaters similar to those already in place constructed on the main beach and East Beach.

It will take up to six months for engineers and specialist consultants to review and assess various alternatives, and following the studies and investigations, a report will come on whether to go ahead with the original preferred option or use the additional funding on a different option which may be more beneficial to Sidmouth’s coastal defences.