Work progresses on historic coastal pollution work following Northumberland County Council investigation

Northumberland County Council has already undertaken ground investigation works at the site to gain a better understanding of the types and extent of waste in the ground.

The next phase requires a more detailed investigation to provide a comprehensive picture of the site, which is needed to develop the in-depth plans for restoring the area.

It comes after the Council’s Cabinet agreed funding in May to kick-start the clean-up work.

The project is estimated to cost in the region of £7.5m and the Council made financial provision of £2.5m when it set out its financial plans for the next three years at its meeting in February this year.

The Council’s Cabinet agreed to release an initial £500,000 so that essential pre-construction activities can be progressed.

While the pre-construction activities will be funded entirely by the council, additional sources of funding are being sought to support the main work.

As well as the ground investigation works involving borehole testing and trial pits, detailed design work on the clean-up scheme is continuing, while the council has carried out a number of environmental surveys to plan how it will mitigate the impact of the work.

Councillor Glen Sanderson, Cabinet Member for Environment and Local Services, said: “This is a very important but very complex project and a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to get us to this point.

“We are committed to tackling these pollution issues once and for all and restoring this stretch of coastline to its former glory.

“We are now working towards securing all of the necessary consents required to undertake the clean-up works. This includes submitting a planning application for the scheme at the beginning of December with a view to the main work beginning in April next year.”

Since the problem was identified, a number of temporary measures have been introduced in the area including air monitoring, the temporary diversion of the England Coastal Path and continued pollution clearance.

The council has also been doing additional clean-up visits to remove any waste materials that are washing out from the site.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper.

If you can, please do pick up a copy when you are at the shops. Thank you for your support.