Sea defences need urgent repairs, says councillor

Ron Woodley said it was "outlandish" that steps down to the beach had been fixed, but not the east sea wall bastion opposite Lynton Road

Holes in a beach promenade's sea defence must be tackled before they deteriorate further, a councillor said.

Ron Woodley, from the Residents First group, is calling for urgent attention to repair the east seawall bastion at Thorpe Bay in Southend.

Southend-on-Sea City Council's £1.5m fund for maintenance and improvement to the seafront had already been spent or allocated, he said.

David Garston, from the ruling Conservative group, said: "If it needs to be done it should be done."

The council, which is led by a minority Tory administration, has already made repairs to the west sea wall bastion at Thorpe Bay.

Mr Woodley, who represents Thorpe Bay ward, called on the council to spend part of its £1.5m fund on the other bastion, but, in a Burges Estate Residents' Association newsletter, he said the three-year fund, which runs until the end of the current financial year, had already been spent.

'Dire' finances

The funding has been spent or allocated on replacing the beach steps in Thorpe Bay and at Chalkwell, including work on a boardwalk at Chalkwell and a climate resilient garden.

"What I find outlandish is the fact that our officers are prepared to fix steps on to the beach, yet ignore the fact the east bastion is in a precious position of collapse with various voids open to the sea and weather," said Mr Woodley.

Mr Garston, cabinet member with responsibility for sea defences, said the financial situation of the council was "dire".

"If it needs to be done it should be done. It would need to be investigated and I'm more than happy to do that," he said.

"If we are going to do anything it would need to be grant funded but we'll look at it and do all we possibly can to assist."