A village coast road in East Devon, at risk of falling into the sea, was the focus of a community meeting in a bid to manage the erosion.
A crucial meeting over the future of a precarious cliff road was held this weekend as the seaside town’s community looks to take proactive steps, writes local democracy reporter Bradley Gerrard.
Common Hill, in Beer, steeply snakes up a route that gets close to the cliff edge, and residents are growing increasingly fearful that if the town experiences more erosion in that location, the road could become compromised.
A aerial view of how close Common Hill is to the cliff edge in areas of Beer.
Image: Beer Parish Council.
Councillor John Heath (Independent, Beer and Branscombe), who sits on the town council as well as East Devon District Council, said it was a case of “when and not if Common Hill will go”.
“There are points when it is literally two feet from the edge of the cliff, and climate change is accelerating the degeneration of the cliff,” he said.
“We have had cliff falls here in Beer just recently, although not in the exact location of Common Hill.”
There are areas of Common Hill when the road is just a few feet from the cliff edge.
Image: Google Street View.
Cllr Heath noted that photographs from roughly 80 years ago show a “considerable amount of overlap” of land between the road and the cliff edge – essentially “a lot more cliff than there is now”.
Efforts to find a solution were the focus of Saturday’s community meeting (February 21) at the town’s Mariners Hall.
Photos and surveys were available and suggestions invited on how to prolong the life of Common Hill.
Cllr Heath said some ideas included only allowing residents to drive up Common Hill, as well as letting pedestrians use it as well as emergency vehicles.
“But at the moment we have 7-tonne lorries using it, and electric vehicles, which are growing increasingly common, are also much heavier,” he said.,
Cllr Heath said any possible solutions from the meeting could be formulated into proposals and sent to Devon County Council, which oversees highways, to see if proactive steps can be taken.
“We obviously don’t know the timeline as to when it could collapse, so we are trying to mitigate against it now,” Cllr Heath added.
The top of Common Hill, overlooking Beer.
Image: Google Street View.
The area’s MP, Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat), said his constituents were “very lucky to live so close to the Jurassic coast” but that this brought with it harsh realities.
“The trouble is, our coastline does not stand still; it is being eroded,” he said.
“Residents of Cliff Road in Sidmouth have shown me how they have lost much of their garden to the sea.
“I am not going to interfere in what is rightly the business of parishes and local councils, in Beer or elsewhere. But when we work together, we can help protect parts of the East Devon coast from rising sea levels.
“This happened at Seaton Hole recently, owing to funding from various councils and hard work from people at East Devon District Council.
“Erosion cannot be stopped altogether; there are parts of the coast path where erosion has to be managed, and where we have to work with the powerful forces of nature.”
