Cliff falls at Brighton Marina 2000 - 2002

Landslip at popular sea walk

The ARGUS, 13 December

by Rowan Dore

Parts of the chalk cliffs behind Brighton Marina collapsed after the stormy night. Around seven tons of the cliff face suddenly slid away close to the ASDA store, blocking the undercliff walk. Ambulance and fire crews were called to the scene by staff at the store, who heard the sound of falling chalk and earth. At first it was feared the huge landslip may have buried a walker, cyclist or jogger out on the popular sea walk. But there was no-one underneath the 100 ft cliffs at the time.

A spokesman for Brighton Marina said::"It has blocked the underclif walk and the service road at the back of Satarboard Court at the Marina. About six or seven tons of the cliff face has fallen. "Police, fire and ambulance services were called in case there was someone underneath at the time, but no-one was walking there at the time." Meanwhile, a huge section of the cliffwalk disappeared into a cavern after its chalk bed collapsed after weeks of torrentail rain.

A 17 metre long section of the under cliff walk, which runs parallel to the main A259 along the seafront between Ovingdean and Brighton Marina at Roedean Bastion collapsed into a four metre hole last night. The pathway is made up of concrete slabs laid onto a chalk bed on the cliffside and is a popular route with cyclists and walkers heading into Brighton. Richard Pearce, a seafront officer for Brighton and Hove Council, said: "It's now closed and will take a substantial amount of rebuilding." He added: "It's not the first time it's happened. If we have a big freeze with the amount of water in the cliffs we could have a major fall." A spokesman for Brighton and Hove Council says the collapse was caused by a breach in the sea wall which exposed the chalk below, eroding the concrete platform. The council plans to fill the 200 cubic metre hole with concrete by Christmas depending on the weather. He added: "This has happened three or four times. We're advising people to stay away from it - particularly when weather is bad. They should not try to cross the gap."

Neil's mission to save the cliffs

The ARGUS, Wednesday 07 February 2001

Daring cliffhanger Neil Atkin has been called in to help stabilise crumbling cliffs overlooking Brighton Marina. Shoppers in the Asda car park have been transfixed by the sight of Neil and his supervisor Marcus Raby hacking away at the face, sending loose chalk and flint cascading on to the undercliff walk below. The walkway was closed this winter after exceptionally wet weather, followed by frost, weakened the 100ft cliff. Thousands of tonnes of rock were dislodged but nobody was hurt. Neil, 21, from Bangor, north Wales, and Marcus, 27, of Stafford, are working their way along the cliff face as a giant excavator scoops away mounds of rubble currently blocking the path. The pair, who take turns to work four-hour shifts, have been using a pneumatic drill, spade and pickaxe to hack at the cliff face.

They have to watch out for razor-sharp flints jutting out from the chalk, which could cut their ropes. Neil, a rock climber who learned his trade in the peaks of Snowdonia, is constantly buffeted by wind and rain but says the spectacular view makes up for the discomfort. Neil, who has also worked on stands at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, said: "It is cold, wet and slippery. The cliff is quite unstable and lots of chalk is ready to go, so we are taking off overhanging or loose rock." Marcus, who has worked on the Millennium Dome and London Eye, said: "It is really hard, tiring work, but I have been doing it for five years and have become pretty fit.

"The flints are like razor blades. You are working on a potential avalanche and you try to work it so you don't cut the rock from under your own feet." Marcus and Neil are halfway through a three-week contract with Brighton and Hove Council. A council spokeswoman said: "We have got engineering consultants advising us and one of the things we are looking at as an interim measure is putting up some fencing, similar to that used to stop avalanches."

Shoppers in cliff collapse drama

The ARGUS, Monday 09 April 2001

A cliff fall behind a supermarket today just missed workers and shoppers and plunged the store into darkness. Staff at Asda in Brighton Marina had to run for cover when rocks and debris fell into the yard. They watched in horror as a water tanker, used to supply the store's sprinkler system, was bowled over and an electricity generator was knocked out by flying rocks.

More than 20 shoppers and 75 members of staff were evacuated from the area at about 8.30am and the store was closed. Fire crews and police were on standby and a 300-metre area around the fall was cordoned off. Asda personnel manager Darren Evans was working at the back of the store. He said: "I looked behind me and saw it all come down. It hit the water tank, which went straight up in the air, before shunting a big freezer we keep at the back, and I just ran. "I made sure everyone was OK and ran in the store and told everyone to get out. "It was an incredible sight and was like something out of the film Vertical Limit." Paul Medhurst, warehouse manager, said: "I heard a loud rumble, just like thunder, and a big bang. "We have a freezer at the back and it was moving towards me and I just ran to the far end of the yard. "It was so quick and I am very lucky. I've never heard anything like it. It was like an intense breaking of glass and I felt the earth shake."

Bryan Salvage, who works at Asda, said: "All the lights and the phone went down. There was a massive roar and the roof started shaking. People started to run out. No one knew what it was. We hit the alarm and everyone was out pretty quickly. Then I got outside and saw half the cliff had come down." General store manager Jonathan Smith said: "It was the biggest cliff fall to date. "There was a huge spillage of chalk into our back yard. We evacuated the building immediately and I'm pleased to say everyone is safe, although staff are shocked by the incident. "We will be closed until we are told otherwise because we have no electricity and no sprinkler system. There is a large overhang of cliff and it is in a very dangerous position. "We are very concerned about this. This is the biggest incident yet and we would like it sorted out." Engineers from Brighton and Hove City Council arrived with workmen from power firm Seeboard.

On December 13, last year an estimated 800 tonnes of rock fell on to the undercliff walk on Brighton's eastern seafront. Since then, there have been another 14 collapses after heavy rain.

Cliff slide bill hits £700,000

The ARGUS, Wednesday 25 April 2001

The repair bill to stabilise cliffs where more than 6,000 tonnes of rock have fallen has leapt to £700,000. It is likely to be September before the popular Undercliff Walk in Brighton is finally reopened following the latest falls. Brighton and Hove City Council believes it will have to spend the money to stop more rock falling on to the walkway at Black Rock. It is £200,000 more than estimates made before the last big fall two weeks ago, when 2,000 tonnes fell on to the walkway and closed the neighbouring Asda store at Brighton Marina. Among work being considered is an avalanche fence at the base of the cliff, bolting the bottom section and grading back the whole cliff face.

The cliffs are protected because of their geology and rare wild flowers and any work will have to be approved by the conservation watchdog English Nature. A council spokeswoman said: "Our plans have gone in to English Nature. We expect a speedy response from them, although they have 28 days in which to reply. "Then it should take us four months to carry out the work to make it safe." Heavy rain has been blamed for the falls.

Row over cliff work

The ARGUS, Monday 08 October 2001

Plans to stabilise cliffs after a series of rock falls have been branded irresponsible by a conservation group. The Brighton Urban Wildlife Group said protected chalk cliffs behind the marina in the city would suffer irreparable damage if plans were approved. Brighton and Hove City Council wants to spend £500,000 on the project, intended to stop a repeat of last winter's rock falls. The popular Undercliff Walk where it passes the marina has been closed since a major rock fall in April. The proposals include removing the top two metres of cliff, regrading the next five metres and using bolts and mesh to stabilise some other sections.

Phil Belden, of the wildlife group, said a full environmental impact assessment should be carried out before a planning application was considered. He said the work would speed up erosion towards the main A259 and damage cliffs that provided a home to an internationally rare flower, the hoary stock. He said: "It is irresponsible. It is basically council vandalism of a nationally important wildlife and geological site. They should take a measured view of the actual risk of all this." The work would be limited to a short length of cliff, protected as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), behind the Asda store. The council has been told it would not be able to repeat the work on an adjoining section of cliffs at Black Rock because of their geological importance. English Nature, the body responsible for policing SSSIs, has agreed to the work subject to the council agreeing a series of mitigation measures. John Curson, of English Nature's Sussex office, said: "We regard this as a one-off because of its location. We don't expect to have more planning applications for similar work on the rest of the cliffs."

Councils were made responsible for the upkeep of protected sites such as SSSIs in tough new laws introduced earlier this year. The council expects an application for planning permission to go before planners later this month, although it may be agreed by officers using delegated powers without going to committee. A spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment before the application was considered.

Cliffs rescue plan under fire

The ARGUS, Thursday 17 January 2002

A council's plan to stabilise crumbling cliffs after rock falls has been attacked by its own conservation watchdog. Brighton and Hove City Council's Wildlife Advisory Group criticised the proposal, saying it would do too much damage to the protected cliff face. The council wants to stop further rock falls by removing the top two metres of cliff, shaving back the next five metres and using mesh and bolts to stabilise other sections.

The popular Undercliff Walk has been closed since a series of falls last winter and spring from cliffs behind Brighton Marina. Watchdog chairman Steve Waite said it was not certain the walk would be reopened to the public if the work was done. He said: "The proposed engineered solution that appears to be favoured by the council isn't the best way of protecting the wildlife or geological features at that site. "From our point of view, we are not happy with the suggested solution to that on wildlife grounds."

The work would be limited to a short section of cliff behind the Asda store, which is protected as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) because of rare flowers growing there. English Nature, the body responsible for policing SSSIs, has agreed to the plan. The council has been told, however, that it would not be able to repeat the stabilisation work further along the cliffs because of their geological importance. The council expects to consider a planning application for the work early next month.