Lyme Regis: Pledge to raise £21m to combat coastal erosion (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Lyme Regis: Pledge to raise £21m to combat coastal erosion

11:00am Friday 23rd July 2010

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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.”

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