Phase of Exmouth sea wall repairs pushed back to the autumn

A second phase of the work is now due to begin in the autumn

A phase of work to repair Exmouth's crumbling sea wall has been pushed back to September.

It comes after cracks appeared in the structure, opposite the Sideshore development, in August.

A subsequent storm weakened the wall further putting it at risk of collapse.

The first phase of the emergency repairs to the wall, which is believed to be about 100 years old, is due to begin in the next two weeks.

The first section of work, which should be completed by the end of May, will replace 90m (295ft) of failed wall with a vertical wall, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

This has been costed at £1.5m.

The whole project is expected to cost about £4.3m

The second phase, which has been pushed back to September at the earliest, will tackle 115m (377ft) of 'at-risk but still-intact' wall towards Coastwatch House - minus the slipway.

This work has been estimated to cost about £1.8m.

Cladding the steel pipes is estimated to cost just under £1m, bringing the total amount to about £4.3m.

East Devon District Council (EDDC) hopes it will be able to get a grant of £1.1m from the Environment Agency.

Councillor Geoff Jung said the council would "endeavour to find funding from elsewhere".

"But we need to be prepared to dip into our reserves on this one, and probably put back some other projects that are less urgent," he said.

Delays to the project are down to having to change the design because of poor-quality ground, figuring out how to work around businesses and a risk of unexploded bombs in the area requiring more surveys.

The second phase has been deferred amid concerns piling could damage businesses along the wall towards Coastwatch House.

Councillors have agreed for EDDC's scrutiny committee to look into how the authority allowed businesses and infrastructure at Sideshore to be built next to the part of the sea wall that has failed.