Officials try to agree 'true' number of Yorkshire homes to be lost to sea
A “TRUE figure” for the number of homes lost to the sea in East Yorkshire in the coming years should be known within months as officials try to resolve huge differences in estimates.
There was alarm after the Environment Agency produced a report last year which said 1,100 properties, could be lost to erosion by 2055.
It warned that if preventative measures, like sea defences, were not built, the figure could be five times greater. However East Riding Council's own officers believe just 127 homes will be lost in the next century on what is the fastest eroding stretch of coastline in Europe.
Coastal change manager Richard Jackson told a scrutiny committee meeting that they make regular assessments of erosion rates.
"Our figures are based on our own monitoring every six months, we do a fly over our coast which sets where the coastline is and updates erosion rates for each 500 metres of cliffline.”
They had several issues with the EA’s data, as it included hundreds of caravans, which the council considers holiday accommodation only. It also included areas at the edges of defences, where large numbers of properties were shown as potentially being lost. In the case of Withernsea, recently built defences to the south of the town, hadn’t been included in the mapping.
Mr Jackson said: “We are working with the EA to update that mapping and these figures and having our own assessment done looking at that national mapping with the climate change element to create a true figure. We hope to have that in the next three months.”
To help some of those forced to relocate, nine social rent houses are being built at Skipsea by Broadacres Housing Association as part of a long-delayed scheme. A further two are being purchased, with another six potentially to follow.
Mr Jackson said: “The intention is to provide a range of properties, types and locations along the coast to cater for as many different types of people as possible.”
In January the East Riding, along with Norfolk and Suffolk was given a share of £18m funds as the EA says these places have been “at the forefront of developing innovative approaches”.
Mr Jackson said they’d be exploring the possibility of buying properties that are at risk of going over the edge. "If that’s cost beneficial to the government and council we can look at options to buy properties at risk and provide additional financial support,” he said. The meeting endorsed changes to local lettings policies aimed at helping those at risk of losing their home.
At the moment people on the housing register are only prioritised when the property is declared dangerous –usually when their home is a certain distance from the cliff edge, calculated by the council. On occasion they’d had people who were just 10cm from the line on the register but unable to move. “It’s a great source of anxiety and distress,” he said. Some tenants ended up in substandard property because their landlord didn’t want to invest in a home that would be lost. "The intention is to allow people to relocate more proactively if they want to.”