Plans for £1.8m sea defence works in Northumberland village

There have been long-standing concerns about the condition of the sea wall on Harbour Road in Beadnell.

A £1.8million scheme is included in Northumberland County Council’s 2021/22 draft budget, although the work will carry over into the following year.

Attentions have turned to Beadnell following the completion of a £3million repair scheme at nearby Seahouses pier.

"There’s £1.8million in there for flooding and coastal erosion risk management at the sea wall on Harbour Road,” revealed Cllr Guy Renner-Thompson, ward county councillor, at a meeting of Beadnell Parish Council.

"There’s £130,000 from county and the rest from the Environment Agency.

"It will be like at Seahouses where county will do the prep work and surveying which is what the £130,000 is for and then the rest which brings it up to £1.8million will be the Environment Agency actually doing it.”

A number of holes in the sea defences on Harbour Road were found in 2017 when an inspection was carried out by Cllr Renner-Thompson and former parish council vice chairman Richard Batten.

Northumberland County Council pointed the worst areas of the wall and patched up an area where under scour had occurred.

Officers in the council’s flood and coastal erosion team had already been working to develop a scheme to address the general condition of defences in Beadnell to safeguard the village’s future and a fresh business case has been done.

Parish councillors expressed hope that studies of flood risk in the local area would be carried out as part of the work.

Cllr Renner-Thompson also revealed that £110,000 has been allocated in the council’s Local Transport Plan to tackle a surface water issue at Chathill.

The road is expected to be closed until February 20 from 7.30am to 5.30pm with a diversion in place.

"That is to do the boring work on the road to try and find out what the underlying problem is,” explained Cllr Renner-Thompson.

A further £19,000 has been allocated for surface dressing between Chathill and Swinhoe.

Cllr Renner-Thompson has also reported an issue with surface water on Swinhoe Road to the county council and Northumberland Estates.

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