The coastal road being eroded by climate change

A stretch of road linking communities in West Somerset, which has been closed to cars for more than a year, might never reopen due to climate change, a geological firm claims.

The B3191, known locally as Cleeve Hill, previously provided access to those using camping and touring sites in Blue Anchor to the harbour town of Watchet.

The road was first closed by Somerset County Council in January 2023, after a survey showed ongoing erosion along the coast had accelerated.

Somerset Council is working with the Environment Agency on plans to secure the road's long-term future but Geckoella, the firm monitoring the coastline, believes the situation will only get worse.

The road sits just feet from the rapidly eroding cliff edge, and forms part of the popular Somerset section of the England Coastal Path - linking Brean and Minehead.

The B3191 has been closely monitored for the past couple of years by the independent firm Geckoella, which has been advising Somerset Council on what is happening on the West Somerset coastline.

And while there were hopes the key route could be reopened fully when the council allowed pedestrians to use the road over Easter - experts say it is unlikely to ever happen.

"It's going to get worse," Dr Andy King, the director of the firm told BBC Radio Somerset.

Dr King laid the issue squarely with climate change, calling the rate of erosion there "unprecedented".

He said the impact of climate change was not only the raised sea levels, but an increase in persistent rainfall in the area, meaning coastal erosion was getting worse.

"The cliff is moving at different rates at different places," he said, noting it was "highly unstable".

Allotments that used to sit on the cliff have now all but disappeared. Dr King said 17.5 metres was lost in just 10 months.

But while the coastline is being pushed back, Dr King said: "Nobody is going to be standing by or letting Watchet erode into the sea."

Somerset Council, which is responsible for the coastline said the focus in the short term was to find a way to allow cyclists to use the road, while providing support and marketing for events in Watchet.

Dr King said the "automatic reaction" in cases like this was to "build a wall", but added these were expensive to maintain at the same rate as climate change.

Instead, he said the best defence was to "work with nature - building out groynes from the cliffs and hold the beach sediment", which in turn will act as an "energy absorber".

Further down the coast, boulders were placed at points at Minehead and Blue Anchor to slow down the rate of erosion - at a cost of millions of pounds and before the council declared a financial emergency.

However, Dr King said "houses are close to being undermined" along the coastline, so sustainable options need to be explored.

Contractors Geckoella can make recommendations to Somerset Council, who in turn will make decisions about what will happen next.

When asked whether the road would ever reopen to cars, Dr King said no, adding: "It's highly unstable".

Responding to local talk about moving the road inland slightly, he described this option is simply "kicking the can down the road", not to mention "hugely expensive".

The Environment Agency said: "There is £1m of flood defence grant in aid and £500,000 of local levy funding for Cleeve Hill.

"Our understanding is the money is for coastal works, such as cliff reinforcement or strengthening, and couldn’t be diverted towards an alternative road further inland.

"In any case, this would represent a fraction of the money required."

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