A £450,000 government-backed project is being pursued by North Yorkshire Council to protect the highly vulnerable Flat Cliffs community in Filey from severe coastal erosion.
A £450,000 project to manage coastal erosion and climate change in a North Yorkshire hamlet could be funded by the Government.
The North Yorkshire coast has some of the fastest eroding coastline in Europe and dozens of homes in the county are at “imminent risk”, including those in the Flat Cliffs community of Filey.
The sole access road to the homes, which runs through Primrose Valley holiday village, is vulnerable to collapse due to erosion and could leave residents stranded.
However, a £450,000 project to help manage coastal erosion could be backed by the Government, as part of a national £12m scheme to assist with adaptation planning.
At a meeting on Thursday, June 25, the North Yorkshire Council agreed to apply for the funding.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, the executive member for highways and transportation, said that supporting coastal areas remained a priority for the authority.
He said:
“The East Coast is a very important part of North Yorkshire and any additional funding we can secure for the communities there and the projects that need delivering is a priority for us.”
Government estimates suggest the coastline at Flat Cliffs will erode by up to 12m (39ft) by 2055, and could potentially extend to 40m (131ft) by 2105.
Last August, a £90,000 grant to help people living near Flat Cliffs plan for coastal erosion was accepted by North Yorkshire Council, which will use the money to help the residents of 45 properties that are “at imminent risk of loss” from coastal erosion.
The area is a well-documented and serious example of coastal erosion on the North Yorkshire coast. The coastal cliffs are made of soft glacial till (boulder clay) which is weak, easily eroded and prone to landslides.
Around 45 homes are at risk of being lost to the sea. However, the principal risk being faced by the community is loss of the only access road, which is vulnerable to collapse, potentially isolating the residents, a council report notes.
It added:
“Loss of the road would result in resident relocation and major community disruption.”
Similar concerns have been raised by many of the families and residents living at Flat Cliffs.
In 2017, the now-defunct Scarborough Borough Council approved a £572,000 Coast Protection grant for “urgent work” at Flat Cliffs, which it also said would “buy more time” for residents.
A project was subsequently completed in 2018 to shore up the sole access road to the homes, which runs through Primrose Valley holiday village and was at risk from coastal erosion.
The Environment Agency recently announced a major new funding stream to assist with adaptation planning, making £12 m nationally available for small-scale adaptation projects delivering readiness actions.
No expected timescale for a decision on the funding application has been announced by the council.
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