Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, has welcomed the news that the East Riding of Yorkshire Council have secured just over £3 million funding from the European Regional Development Fund to go towards extending the rock armour at the southern end of Withernsea.
The total cost of the project is £5.5 million, with East Riding Council making up the £2.5 million shortfall.
The Holderness coastline around south Withernsea experiences some of the fastest erosion in Europe – losing between 6-8.5 metres since November 2017. The new defences will extend the existing rock armour by 400 metres as well as reworking the 100m rock structure already in place.
The defences are vital for securing the futures of Holmpton and Hollym Roads as well as the Newsham Gardens residential area. The roads are needed for blue light services to be able to reach communities to the south of Withernsea and also run over important infrastructure like the water mains as well as electric and IT cables.
Commenting on the news, Graham said: “This is fantastic news for Withernsea and all the residents and businesses at the southern end of town.
“Winning the money for this project has taken years, and if it hadn’t been for the dedication and doggedness of Councillors Lyn Healing, Dave Tucker and Paul Whitehead I really don’t know if this project would have succeeded. They worked really hard to make sure council officers kept this project at the top of their agenda, and that’s exactly what the council officers did.
“The small team in Flood Risk Strategy worked tirelessly to land this funding. Astonishingly, this successful bid to ERDF is the twelfth funding bid the team made over the years. So it’s just absolutely great news that everyone’s hard work has paid off.
“I know the Council still has a few hoops to jump through – like obtaining a Crown lease, finalising the Marine Management Organisation licence and, extremely importantly, working to make sure that the contractors’ tenders come in within budget. But I think we can all celebrate a bit now and look forward to next spring when we hope the boats will arrive to deliver the vital rocks.”
The scheme was successful at the first stage of the ERDF funding bid in March this year, after Graham wrote to the Coastal Communities Minister, Jake Berry MP, and invited him to visit the site in November 2018.
It has also overcome several setbacks, having previously missed out on Coastal Communities Funding and faced objections from Natural England over concerns about its effect on sediment flow.
The scheme will protect approximately 59 residential properties and around 300 holiday chalets and static caravans.
