BCP Council to sign off on £1.4m cliff-safety plan following several landslides
Over a million is being spent to reduce the number of landslides along Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
BCP Cabinet is set to approve £1.4 million to manage cliff safety across 14 miles of coastline.
The funding is to reduce cliff slips and landslides and improve the safety for people and property along the coastline.
Most recently, landslides have happened at West Cliff in October 2024 and at East Cliff in November 2024 and January 2025.
Most of the coast is already protected from sea erosion by seawalls, groynes and beach nourishment. However, these defences do not stop landslides, which are caused by groundwater instability inside the cliffs.
In the last two years, the council has spent more than £750,000 on actions including, covering GPS cliff monitoring, expert advice, routine maintenance and emergency works such as stabilising the cliff face at Portman Ravine.
The £1.4 million will come from council reserves as a one‑off payment, covering cliff management until the end of the 2026/27 financial year.
The money will be prioritised for a rolling programme of inspection, maintenance and replacement of more than 700 sand drains and other cliff drainage systems.
It will also fund detailed assessments at high‑risk sites, including West Cliff, Honeycombe Chine and Pinecliffe Gardens, with remediation works carried out where needed.
The report says that by investing in cliff management it will “ensure effective maintenance of existing stabilisation systems is occurring, reducing the risk of future cliff falls and slips occurring.”
The report does acknowledge that this will not fully prevent cliff falls and slips but says it will “minimise the risk to people, property and infrastructure.