Beach chalets teetering after landslide

Beach chalets have been left teetering on a cliffside following a landslide on the south Devon coast.

The chalets are at an angle on the cliffside at Branscombe with parts of the decking partially collapsed.

The section of the coast path which runs through the site has been closed and the National Trust, which owns the beach, has advised people not to walk there.

The landslide came shortly before the publication of a parliamentary select committee report which warned of "the devastating human costs of coastal erosion and landslides".

Mike Pellatt, chairman of Branscombe Parish Council, said: "We've had a fairly major landslide after one of the recent storms and it's taken some of the chalets that we've got along here down with the landslide."

Pellatt said there would clearly be a financial impact for the owners and for some people in Branscombe who rely on tourism for income.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee published a report on 20 March entitled Erosion of trust: the impact of coastal erosion on communities.

It said coastal erosion was "already causing profound and distressing disruption to people's lives" and described it as "a challenge that touches housing, health, local growth, infrastructure, and community resilience".

Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: "We're looking at the inevitability of the sea moving in and how we manage that, how we cope with that."

She said there were some "fantastic schemes" happening in Cornwall looking at the "natural battlements" like sand dunes and how they could be used.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs said the government had spent more than £600m over the last two years on protecting communities from sea and tidal flooding.

They added they would "always support coastal communities to adapt where the forces of nature make long-term defence impossible".

A few miles down the coast from Branscombe the walkway along the sea front in the Regency resort of Sidmouth has been closed due to concerns over the stability of the sandstone cliff which overhangs it.

Abbi Saunders is the manager of the Clock Tower cafe in Connaught Gardens above the walkway, commanding dramatic views along the Jurassic coastline.

The white steps, known as Jacob's Ladder, leading up from the beach to the cafe are also closed due to safety concerns - further reducing access for cafe customers.

Saunders said: "We've lost quite a lot of customers based on the fact that the walkway is closed - people just aren't sure where to access us."

The cafe is fully open and accessible through Connaught Gardens.

A retreat from the coastline has worked out well for Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club, according to Emma Cooling from the club.

She said they now have far better facilities after moving inland for the start of the season in April 2023.

The previous club site near the Lime Kiln car park was frequently seriously flooded.

In a £15m Environment Agency project two new pitches were built further inland on a site owned by Clinton Devon Estates, allowing the River Otter to reconnect it to its original flood plains.

Cooling said: "We are probably one of a few people that have actually benefitted from coastal erosion."

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