Blackpool Council warns 'beach could be lost' if £11m funding bid fails

Part of Blackpool beach could be lost forever due to climate change unless an £11m bid for extra funding towards sea defences is successful.

Rising sea levels and more extreme storms have been blamed for the risk to the beach at Anchorsholme which council chiefs have warned "could be lost" unless urgent action is taken.

Now a bid had been made for an extra £11m from the Environment Agency so the work can be carried out at the same time as repairs to the existing sea walls after cracks were found. It is proposed to build groynes, which would be rocky barriers stretching into the sea and able to trap sand so it stays on the beach and reduces the risk of erosion.

A council report warns "the beach levels are lower than expected" and if this is not fixed the "seawall will not be protected and the defences compromised and in addition, there is a danger that the beach will continue to lower and the beach could be lost."

The danger was uncovered during recent inspections as part of work towards £62m  new sea defences at Bispham.

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The report adds: "These trends have been identified as being due to climate change, increased storminess (cyclic, episodic, new normal), sea level rise, reduced supply of material from offshore,sediment transport along this coast, channels and sandbanks."

Once in place at Anchorsholme, the groynes would act as headlands to trap and retain the nature supply of sand while stabilising the beach and deflecting tidal currents. The report says talks with the Environment Agency around the funding have been positive, and money will be saved by doing the work while the repairs are being made to the existing sea wall.

A defect was found in the Anchorsholme sea wall not long after work on the £27m project was completed in  2017 by contractor Balfour Beatty. The council has now reached an agreement with Balfour Beatty which is carrying out the repairs with the cost borne by the contractor and its insurers.

The Environment Agency has already allocated £62m to replace and upgrade coastal defences in Bispham, along two sections from Princes Way at Little Bispham to Red Bank Road, and from Gynn Square to Cocker Square. Both schemes will see improvements to access steps and slipways, replacement of the crest wall and beach management measures.

This scheme will reduce the risk of erosion to 3,631 households, 380 non-residential properties and also protect strategically important infrastructure that is vital to Blackpool as a resort and community, including the tramway.

Further up the coast, £57m has been allocated to a beach management scheme between Cocker Square and South Pier. This will address beach levels, which are falling quicker than anticipated across three kilometres of sea wall, ensuring the life of the sea defences is prolonged.