Funding approved for Northumberland flooding schemes and Lynemouth Bay clean-up

Some of the pollution coming out of the cliffs at Lynemouth Bay.

At the meeting of Northumberland County Council’s cabinet on Tuesday, May 12, members signed off on £500,000 for the planning phase of the Lynemouth Bay project.

After decades of colliery spoil tipping, the erosion there has accelerated in recent years, revealing sites of historic waste previously buried within the cliffs.

As previously reported, the council has committed to a clean-up project which could cost a total of £7.5million, allocating £2.5million over two years when approving its budget in February.

The initial £500,000 from the local authority is for environmental reporting, design and ground investigation works so it can secure the necessary consents required to carry out the main works in 2021, with additional sources of funding now being sought.

Coun Glen Sanderson, the cabinet member for the environment, said: “We’ve spent the last 18 months working to understand exactly what we are dealing with and what the best solution is to tackle this long-standing historic pollution issue.

“It’s going to be a major undertaking to extract all the harmful rubbish and safely remove it from the site, but we are committed to doing this to tackle the pollution issues once and for all and to restore this stretch of coastline to its former glory.

“This initial funding will allow us to carry out some key bits of work and pave the way for the main scheme next year.”

Councillors also formally accepted Environment Agency grants for ‘quite small but important’ projects in Cramlington, Morpeth and Berwick to protect homes from flooding.

The schemes, which are all due to start in the coming months, are:

:: £65,000 to protect properties on Latton Close, Lamonby Way and Longhirst Drive, from water coming off the Cramlington Sporting Club playing field;

:: £45,000 to protect properties in the Chip and Fairway, at Loansdean in Morpeth, from water flowing over an area of green space known as Herons Field;

:: £20,000 to install a flood gate at Spittal Quay to reduce flood risk to several properties and the road in the West End area of Tweedmouth.

Coun Nick Oliver, who represents the council on the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, said: “The council works closely with the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water on flood defence schemes right across our county and it’s great to see three more schemes being implemented. Living with the prospect of flooding is not easy for the residents affected.”

Leila Huntington, area flood and coastal risk manager for the Environment Agency, added: “We understand how devastating the effects of flooding can be on families and communities, and these projects will help reduce flood risk and offer improved peace of mind for residents.”

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.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.