Sefton Council has been developing a coastal protection scheme that covers the coastline, approximately 900m north and south of the beach car park at Hall Road West, Crosby.
The full scheme is to replace aging coastal defences south of the Coastguard Station and to secure the eroding rubble coastline to the north. The scheme will protect properties from erosion and flooding and prevent damage or breaching of the MEPAS sewer that runs along the coastline, adjacent to the footpath/cycleway.
The eventual scheme will comprise replacement of the concrete and timber-faced promenade wall which is now at the end of its design life and incurring appreciable maintenance costs.
However, this major scheme is currently undeliverable until funding sources are identified and secured. It is currently predicted to be delivered beyond 2027, subject to funding being secured, including a contribution from United Utilities’ £12.7m capital programme.
However, the section of coastline to the north has continued to erode and the level of risk to the MEPAS sewer has increased, as well as the loss of the access path. The erosion is losing between 0.5 and 1m of coastline per year, but in extreme tidal circumstances, such as in 2013 some 13m of coastline was lost.
The sewer takes foul water from 12,000 properties in Formby/Hightown to the major treatment plant at Sandon Dock. If this were to break or become undermined, the environmental results would be catastrophic.
The council is therefore seeking to undertake some small-scale coastal protection work to secure a length of just 120 metres of coastline until the larger main scheme can be delivered. Capital funding has been made available from Sefton MBC and United Utilities and £390,000 has been allocated to this interim coastal defence project.
The works involve re-shaping the existing rubble shoreline, putting down special textile material and placing substantial boulders in top to create a “rock-armour” defensive wall. This will involve substantial vehicular movements and heavy mechanical plant and will require Planning Approval and public consultation.
The vehicular route for bringing large boulders to site will inevitably require transport through the residential areas of Crosby/Blundellsands although the route has not yet been finalised.
The timing of the works is significant as the coastline is a heavily protected area, including a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and a habitat for migratory birds. This means that no works can be carried out between October and March.
A public meeting was held on 19 th March 2024, organised by the Seafront Residents Action Group with a presentation by the Council’s Development Manager for Green Sefton, who is managing the project. The works affect Church, Blundellsands and Manor Wards but the 9 Labour Councillors did not attend to meet the public or support their Officer, despite the coastal works affecting the lives of thousands of residents and visitors.
A consultation has been launched on the Council’s website:
https://yourseftonyoursay.sefton.gov.uk/green-sefton/crosby-interim-coa…- defences/
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
Whilst it is encouraging to see that some progress is planned to safeguard our eroding coastline it is “Too Little,Too Late”. Recognising that accelerated erosion was taking place, as witnessed by the 2013 storms, one questions why it has taken the council over 10 years before commencing this “urgent work” north of the Coastguard Station.
Under the Coast Protection Act (1949) Sefton Council was designated as a Coastal Protection Authority and as such has powers to protect and maintain the Sefton coast.
The protection of our coastline falls under the management of Green Sefton, who have just 3 Officers monitoring the coastline between the River Dee and Scottish border. They are accountable to the Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing, Cllr Ian Moncur, and supported by private consultants who monitor the coastline from the land and air.
The work involves liaison with the other local authorities along the coast, with United Utilities, the Rivers Trust, the Environment Agency and other public and private agencies. Each of these separate organisations hold their own budgets and the challenge is to bring together these separate entities and collectively bid for major funding from government and elsewhere. Not an easy task with just 3 Officers who have also to deal with flood prevention across Sefton.
Looking back, we can recall that in Autumn 2011 Sefton Council shifted several millions of tons of beach sand to Hightown to help protect the eroding dunes. The proposed scheme comprised the removal of both windblown sand and areas of relic fixed dunes at Crosby and transporting them by large dump trucks along the connecting foreshore to Hightown. Here the sand was to be used to reinstate the existing sand dunes and extend the toe seaward to its previous position. That work cost £1.494m and was funded by housing developer S106 contributions.
Regrettably subsequent storms washed away the deposited sand, leaving Hightown residents with an undefended coastline. The dunes are eroding, putting at risk the frontage houses and risking the loss of the unique SSSI habitats.
The Council is obliged to annually report its Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy. In November 2018 it was reported that:
“The Crosby Coastal Scheme is underway with Mott McDonald awarded the contract to support the development of the business case. The scheme aims to gain planning permission by Autumn 2019 and be on site during summer 2020.
This project requires circa £15-20M of capital funding and we are working with partners in the Environment Agency and United Utilities to secure contributions to the funding required.”
5 years later there is no record of the business case having been completed, no planning permission or any overall scheme being designed for public consultation.
Since that date, Mott McDonald have been replaced by WSP, another major engineering consultancy, but still no business plan or concept design for our sea defences. Meanwhile local authorities at West Kirkby, Moreton, Morecambe and the Fylde Coast have designed and completed coastal protection schemes, including high quality public promenades.
Between January and March 2020, severe storms over-topped the sea wall and car park at Hall Road causing severe damage to the sea wall. Repair work did not take place until September 2020.
It is disappointing that whilst other high-profile schemes in Sefton are taking attention, such as Bootle Strand and the Southport Conference Centre, our unique coastline is being ignored by this Labour Council.
Not only is this strategy of ignorance putting at risk the major sewer running north/south through the site, but also putting at risk frontage houses at Hightown and allowing the King Charles III coastal footpath to become impassable with 2 metres of drifted sand in parts of Waterloo.
Using the principle of “One Sefton” there needs to be a joined-up approach to our coastline, involving not only Green Sefton but also our Tourism staff to recognise the importance of this coastline for residents, habitat and tourism.
Consultation MUST take place with local residents and amenity groups to seek their views on the future shape and use of the coastline for tourism and recreation. For example, our coastline demand better than a few mobile chip vans, ice-cream vans and a bus bar. Where’s the joined-up working with HM Coastguard to make better use of the Coastguard Station at Hall Road, which themselves are under-used?
A scheme must be designed and costed to reflect the need for coastal protection and its use as an amenity venue. Once an “over-ready” scheme is designed the Council will be in a far stronger position to seek funding from a variety of public and private sources. The strategy is simple, work with the community, develop the vision and generate a compelling bid for funding – just as other councils have done.
