Councillors asked to pay towards sea defence works

For some years now the Environment Agency has been planning new defences close to Sand-le-Mere caravan site at Tunstall where the sea is in danger of breaking through.

Coastal erosion has seen the sea take away chunks of cliff from the embankment built in the 1950s, leading to fears that storm water could surge into Tunstall Drain, flooding fields and villages and even cutting off parts of southern Holderness.

Last year hundreds of tonnes of rock were used to shore up the crumbling sea defences, but this is only a stop-gap measure.

After lengthy consultation Natural England and the council have agreed that setting back defences 200 metres is the best way forward. The work would create an intertidal habitat, which is good for wildlife, on the same lines as the one at Paull Holme Strays.

The Environment Agency has set aside 400,000 for the work, but have warned strains on budgets could make the funds "vulnerable" because of the low numbers of homes affected.

They suggest that East Riding Council contributes 10,000, with another 50,000 coming from an application to the Local Levy, which would have to be signed off by the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee.

A report to next week's meeting of the East Riding Cabinet leaves the options open for councillors but states: "If the scheme does not go ahead there is a risk that coastal flooding could occur following a breach of the current defence and that there could be damage to agricultural land, infrastructure and disruption could be caused to the economy of South Holderness."