A183 Coast Road to be moved from cliff by summer - council

A section of road close to the clifftop is being moved further inland

A road which is in the process of being moved away from the cliff tops will be fully relocated by summer, a council has said.

South Tyneside Council said part of the A183 Coast Road, between Whitburn and South Shields, was at risk of falling into the sea.

A multimillion-pound project to move the road further inland is expected to safeguard it for a further 50 years.

Despite initial delays, the work is due to be completed by the end of July.

Work on the 500m section, between Marsden Lime Kilns and the caravan site near Marsden Grotto, started in November.

The land needed for the "realigned" road was acquired from the National Trust, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The council had said a survey carried out in 2019 identified parts of the route would be compromised in future due to the ongoing erosion of the cliff face, including the formation of caves.

The road will be moved by summer, the council said

Residents and councillors were given an update this week on the project, where some concerns over its projected lifespan were raised, the LDRS said.

Eileen Leask, Horsley Hill ward member, said she was doubtful as the "sea has a way of getting under things".

However, David Pringle, project manager for the scheme, said it had been "guided by the experts", based on historic data and climate change analysis.

He added that, on average, the coast goes in "about a metre every four years" which had led them to the 50-year estimate.

The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation due to its proximity to wildlife habitats and near Marsden Lime Kilns, a scheduled monument.

The council said habitats within the boundary would be reinstated once the road had been repositioned, with the existing road excavated and returned to grassland.