Crumbling coast threatens holiday route

Drastic work to stabilise and repair a one kilometre stretch of the A174 between Sandsend and Whitby is necessary after major problems over the winter.

Urgent work has had to be carried out to keep the road open after part of the concrete barriers underneath it collapsed and land from the slope above the road slipped onto the carriageway.

The news comes on top of major work in Whitby to demolish five houses and shore up collapsing cliffs under St Mary’s Church after landslips.

The road previously had to be closed for several days and temporary lights were installed to keep traffic moving.

Now North Yorkshire County Councillors have been told a major scheme of work is needed to ensure the long term future of the road, a major holiday route connecting Whitby and Teesside.

The Department for Environment is contributing £4.7m to the scheme, with North Yorkshire footing the rest of the bill for £4.6m.

The road runs close to the shoreline and was built on top of coastal defences, known as revetments which were put in when the former railway was built. The slope above it has a history of landslips. 

Mark Young from the council's highways department said:”We are confident this is the right way and the right time to do it.

"This scheme will follow similar schemes around the country in terms of the technical solution. A large part of this is to put a new toe in to stop the sea pulling the road away.”

He said the concrete defences below the road had been undermined by historically low beach levels and, along with water seeping in from the slope, there had been a rapid deterioration which significantly increased the likelihood that a major slip would occur causing the road to collapse.

Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways, said the council had no choice.

He said: "If we don’t do it now we will have to do it later, the important thing is to recognise the opportunity of funding from Defra.”