North Yorkshire Council accepts £1.5m grant for urgent repairs to North Bay sea wall in Scarborough

The grant from the Environment Agency will allow the council to proceed with an urgent project to improve and repair the sea wall.

The authority has said that more than 500 residential, tourist, and commercial properties would be at risk within five years if the wall fell.

Councillors unanimously approved the major grant and plan to “restore and sustain the vital coastal defences” at a meeting of the authority’s executive committee on Tuesday, May 28.

The age of the original sea defence structure dates to 1890 and repairs and additions have been made to various sections in the 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, and 2010s.

The funding will see urgent repairs to 440m of the frontage of the North Bay in Scarborough, which, without investment, is “at risk of failing”.

The sea wall stretches 2km from Clarence Gardens to the North Bay Cliffs.

It consists of a variety of “concrete and masonry near-vertical seawalls of fluctuating heights” as well as an assortment of steps and slipways.

North Yorkshire Council said the length of the wall is “in a variable condition”.

There are 240 residential properties, 137 commercial properties including several tourist amenities, and 136 beach chalets at risk of coastal erosion within five years should the walls fail.

A report said approval will help avoid associated tourism losses, protect the main road link between North and South Bays and important utility infrastructure, as well as avoiding mental health impacts for residents.

The authority said it would procure a specialist consultant to design and project manage the works by November 2024.

A contractor will then be chosen to undertake the works to be delivered by October 2026, in line with the grant deadlines.

The proposal is fully grant-funded by the Environment Agency and includes officer costs, consultant’s fees, design and construction costs, permissions and consenting fees, and a “significant risk contingency allowance” of £444,000.

It was noted that the total project cost of £1,510,855, is an “early estimate” prior to design and is subject to confirmation by the contractor which has not yet been appointed.