Coastal road 'at immediate risk of collapse'

A report said works to divert Cowbar Lane needed "to proceed at pace"

A coastal road is "at immediate risk of collapse" with plans to divert the route being sped up, a report has said.

The cliff face beside Cowbar Lane, in Cowbar, near Staithes, is progressively eroding from waves and heavy rain "triggering slips and landslides", a report for Redcar and Cleveland Council said.

Work to divert the road was due to begin in the early 2030s, but updated advice has suggested phase one of the project be brought forward to 2027.

The report said: "We now need to proceed at pace with the design of the realigned road and associated activity."

The "managed retreat" of the road diversion moving away southwards from the cliff edge was due to be staged in three phases over a 50-year timescale.

A report described how a hamlet of cottages lay immediately behind the road, while on Cowbar Bank, there were more properties, an RNLI lifeboat station and a Yorkshire Water pumping station.

Cowbar Lane is a popular attraction for Cleveland Way walkers

It said erosion issues had been "ongoing historically".

The report said Cowbar Lane was "at immediate risk of collapse" due to significant rockfall last year.

It also said the loss of the access road would result in the abandonment of the properties and relocation of the lifeboat and pumping station, as there were "no viable" alternative access routes.

The report, approved by the cabinet, suggested a contract be awarded to engineering consultancy, AtkinsRealisUK, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Proceed at pace'

It said the council had a legal duty to keep Cowbar Lane open, adding: "We now need to proceed at pace with the design of the realigned road and associated activity."

The report said an application was being drawn up for funding from the Environment Agency, which could be up to £250,000 if awarded.

The cabinet document suggested one property would have to be demolished to make way for the diversion.

It would also permit the continued provision of the National Cycle Network Route 1 which uses a route taking in the Cleveland Way, running parallel to the coast.

Further down the coast in Scarborough, the former Holbeck Hall Hotel fell into the sea following a major landslide in June 1993.