Backing for Scarborough's £15m coastal defence plans

A council report said a cliff collapse could cause the loss of Scarborough's Spa complex

Plans to build sea defences around Scarborough's Spa complex have been approved by the council's cabinet.

The £14.7m project with see a new sea wall built and work carried out to stabilise the cliffs that overlook the Victorian entertainment venue.

The scheme is a revised version of a £24m plan which was rejected in 2014 as "unaffordable".

Most of the work will be funded by a £11.6m grant from the Environment Agency.

In a report to the cabinet committee, Scarborough Borough Council officers said there was a risk of "loss of life, injury to persons, or damage to property due to wave overtopping and due to landsliding."

The report added a survey showed "there is a real risk of cliff failure; evidence documented reveals that pre-failure and progressive movement of the cliff is ongoing and that this is likely to continue and possibly accelerate".

'Getting nervous'

Another report in 2014 claimed any cliff collapse could result in the loss of the Grade II-listed Spa building and put about 380 cliff-top residences at risk.

Dave Auton, chair of the South Cliff Community Group, said residents would be glad to see the work started.

"You see a crack in the path and two weeks later the crack's got bigger," he said.

"You begin to think, 'hang on a minute, this is the cliff face moving' and they have been getting nervous down there."