Work to protect Isle of Wight from coastal erosion
Ventnor is on a so-called landslide complex which could become unstable at any time
Plans are being drawn up to save 3,000 Isle of Wight homes from potential coastal erosion but it will mean the closure of two sections of a popular seafront walkway this winter.
At a public meeting on Tuesday night, it was revealed the sea moves closer into Ventnor each year, by up to 30mm in the winter and between 5mm and 12mm in the summer.
The town sits on a landslide complex, which is the largest in northwestern Europe, according to the Environment Agency, and if that is reactivated, more than 3,000 properties are at risk from coastal erosion.
The defences on Ventnor seafront are already reducing the rate of coastal erosion but they are ageing and need to be refurbished or replaced.
Investigation work will take place in September to help the Environment Agency determine a long-term solution for Ventnor and how quickly it needs to be in place.
For 18 weeks, from September 4, work will take place on the section of the promenade between Wheeler’s Bay and Bonchurch.
This route will be closed from October 1, with no access to Wheeler’s Bay from any direction between November to January.
At the other end of the Esplanade, and at the same time, the Environment Agency will also be undertaking investigations above the Western Cliffs, to the south of Ventnor Park, for 16 weeks.
A section of the coastal path, between La Falaise Car Park and the eastern end of the park, will be closed for two weeks at the start and end of the period.
Originally, it was thought the agency would have until 2027/28 to replace the defences, but with recent movements, it says it doesn’t have that time.
There is no solution yet but the favoured option for slope stabilisation is using a groundwater management system, which uses a well to pump water from the ground to reduce water levels.
The Environment Agency needs to see if such a system is possible for Ventnor, so tests will be done over the winter when groundwater levels are highest.
This would be the initial trial period but they could need to come back and monitor it for three or four years, to determine if it can provide landslide stability.
Also on the Esplanade, at Eastern Cliff, the Isle of Wight Council is hopeful it can re-open the walkway by February, following more than a year’s closure after part of the seawall collapsed.
Piles are being dug 12m into the seafloor and a new seawall is being formed with recycled wood from the old groyne system in Bournemouth.
The work to fix the 180m stretch of seawall would be finished by the end of November, ahead of the winter storms, but railings and a redesign of the promenade will be installed before it can be officially reopened in February.