Surveys pave way for sea wall defences

The Geotechnical surveys are being undertaken in Scarborough’s South Bay to provide information for a proposed multi-million pound scheme to improve the sea defences around the town’s historic Spa complex.

The investigation is the latest stage in a three-year study being funded by a grant from the Environment Agency.

If given the final go-ahead, the project would herald the most significant change to the seafront in Scarborough since the massive development during the Victorian era, bringing with it the opportunity to attract a wave of new investment in the resort.

One option could see the protective barriers being built further off the coast, which has the potential to transform the resort’s South Bay.

Senior councillors involved with the project have told the Yorkshire Post the proposals could provoke controversy, but are vital to safeguard the future of Scarborough.

The investigations into the ground conditions will be carried out on the beach in front of the sea wall by the Spa Complex.

The work, which is expected to take around a week, will involve digging holes on the beach to determine the depth to the bedrock underneath the sand and to take samples.

The latest research is part of a coastal defence strategy which was adopted by the council in January 2000 amid growing concerns that existing structures could fail and were in need of major improvements.

The council insists it has learnt lessons from the High Point Rendel scandal between 2002 and 2005, where it illegally consulted the company over a scheme that eventually cost tens of millions of pounds more than the initial estimates on which the contract was awarded.