Brighton to Saltdean undercliff walk

The Argus 10-11-1999

by CLAIRE HU
SEA defences between Brighton Marina and Ovingdean are crumbling away and urgently need to be repaired, experts have warned.
Brighton and Hove and Lewes District Councils commissioned engineers to produce a 50-year strategy for looking after a 4.4km stretch of coastline from the marina to east Saltdean.
The report said a section of sea wall east of Brighton, built in 1933, needs to be replaced before it erodes completely. It warned: "The existing defences are close to the end of their life but have not yet failed completely. The defences need replacement if coastal defence is to be continued." Engineers from Posford Duvivier concluded: "A significant amount of damage would occur if a 'do nothing' scenario were adopted."
Brighton and Hove Council intends to apply to the Ministry of Agriculture for millions of pounds to build new sea defences. Martin Eade, council sea defences engineer, said sections of the A259 were now just ten metres away from the cliff edge and the report highlighted the urgent need for the aged seawall to be replaced. He said: "We do an awful lot of maintenance work on the old wall just to keep it there. "Our argument is if we let the sea wall get washed away then the cliff would start to move back again and that would endanger the coastal road and sewage works."
The council will send the findings of the report to the ministry next month and will then apply for a grant to fund a five-year programme of works. The report recommends work is carried out to maintain the seawall and measurements are taken to monitor the rate of destruction. Lewes district councillors will discuss the findings at a meeting on Wednesday.

Setback for city flood defences

The Argus 25 October 2001

by Adam Trimingham
A row between two Government departments could delay work on sea defences. Brighton and Hove City Council wants to rebuild the sea wall and Undercliff Walk between the Marina and Ovingdean. But there is an argument over funding the Ł10 million project between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). Work on the site is due to begin next spring and should take a year to complete.
Defra, which will pay for most of the work, said organisations benefiting from it should also make a contribution. This would include the council in its capacity as roads authority because the A259 coast road is nearby. The council made an application for funding to DTLR but it did not want to contribute towards a scheme that would not directly benefit roads. Council environment director Alan McCarthy said the city council had made an approach to Elliot Morley, the Defra minister responsible for coastal protection, and had asked Kemp Town MP Des Turner to intervene. Mr McCarthy added: "It is difficult for the council to try to resolve an issue that is a central Government inter-departmental matter. "The danger is Defra will make an award but less a sum it feels should be met by the highway authority." The council did ask DTLR for Ł1 million, which was refused. It is now offering Ł56,000 to Defra as a gesture in the hope the department will fund the rest. If it is refused, the council will have to wait for the two departments to resolve the argument, which could mean the scheme being delayed indefinitely.