More than £1m set aside for Minehead cliff fence

North Hill, seen from Warren Road in Minehead

Just over one million pounds of council money has been set aside for a fence to catch debris falling from a cliff.

North Hill, at the western end of Minehead seafront, has been prone to rock falls and land slips over the last few decades due to erosion.

The cliff on its eastern end lies behind houses on Quay Street.

Somerset West and Taunton Council expects the final plans in March, with the fence to be completed this year at a cost of £750,000 to £1m.

A total of £1.01m has been set aside, with the work intending to stabilise the cliff for "a period of 50 years" before any further preventative measures need to be taken.

'Most effective solution'

Councillor Andrew Sully, portfolio holder for environmental services, provided an update ahead of the full council meeting held in Taunton on Tuesday evening.

He said in his written report: "WSP has been appointed (following a tender process) to carry out a design scheme for the slope stabilisation at North Hill in Minehead. The initial cost of this is £62,000.

"Work is now under way to design a high tensile steel fence that will be erected along the base of the cliff above the houses along Quay Street.

"This fence will be designed to catch any falling debris such as soil, stones and rocks."

He added: "This is deemed to be the most effective solution, given the difficulty of working on a cliff face that is near-vertical in places."

The local authorities responsible for Minehead have carried out remedial works over the years to reduce the amount of rock falls and land slips on the cliff.

The new unitary Somerset Council - which replaces the current council on April 1 - has identified the funding for the project within its capital programme as part of its first budget.

The budget proposals will be debated by the new council's executive committee on 13 February before coming before the full council for final approval on 22 February.

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