Isle of Wight cliff-face tunnel extension granted by council

Plans to extend a cliff-face tunnel have been approved by Isle of Wight council

A cliff-face tunnel will be extended after a council approved the planning application.

The 8m (26ft) tunnel currently connects a property in Lake on the Isle of Wight with its own viewing platform nestled into the cliff overlooking Sandown Bay.

Concerns had been raised about the application when it was submitted, describing it as "catastrophic".

But the council granted plans to extend the tunnel and confirmed it would not affect the cliff's stability.

When the house on Cliff Path in Lake was built in the early 1900s it was intended the tunnel entrance would link to the property's basement, said planning agent Phil Salmon in documents submitted to Isle of Wight Council.

A recessed area was built into the basement but the tunnel access was never completed.

The platform offers views out over Sandown Bay and would connect to a property via the extended tunnel

Councillor Tig Outlaw said the tunnel's integrity was not in question but that of the cliff, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He said he feared anything that any interferences with the cliff would have a damaging effect.

But, when the council approved the extension, its report noted that a consultant engineer had found the planning safe.

It noted there was no reason why the proposal should not be approved due to ground stability as it was "extremely unlikely to the stability of the cliff".

The authority added that closing the tunnel entrance would remove the risk of potential water collection and subsequent subterranean flow which could have an adverse impact.