Cliff falls between Brighton and Peacehaven 1988 - 2001

Danger is 60 years away

The Argus 22-01-1988

A SENIOR engineer has denied that two new cliff falls at Saltdean have created a danger. The cliff-top fence is being moved back about three metres from the cliff edge to protect walkers near Longridge Avenue between Saltdean and a sewer outfall. The A259 coast road runs about 30 metres from the cliff but Lewes District Council senior assistant engineer Mr Ron Benson predicts it will be 60 years before the erosion reaches it. The council has a 50-year programme to protect cliffs at Peacehaven, Telscombe and Saltdean but Mr Benson said the area of the current fall was not high on the priority list because there was no threat from it.

He described the new falls as quite small and perfectly natural. He said: "There's no danger to the public or to property because of it"

And only 13 years later ....

Work starts to stabilise cliffs

The Argus 14-06-2001

WORKERS will dangle on ropes high above the sea in an ambitious project to stabilise two miles of crumbling coastline.

Hundreds of tonnes of chalk crashed on to the undercliff walk between Saltdean and Peacehaven following the wettest winter since records began. Rain seeped into cracks in the chalk and froze, causing large sections of the cliff to collapse.
Work starts on Monday to shift the chalk rubble on to the beach using mechanical diggers, when it will be pounded down by the sea over the next few years.Experts from Can Geotechnical, which has been given a Ł15,000 contract by Lewes District Council will abseil down the cliff face and shave back dangerously unstable sections and overhangs.It is hoped the undercliff walk at Peacehaven, which has been closed since the winter, will reopen in about three weeks, when the work has been completed.
Lindsay Frost, Lewes District Council director of planning and environmental services, said: "In consultation with English Nature, they will be moving the chalk that fell down on to the beach because this mimics what happens in a natural chalk fall. It was too expensive to take away such a lot of chalk."
The wind and waves will ground down the chalk and it will become embedded in the flints and ground into pebbles. The beach will look different for a while but the sea will transport the chalk away.Surveys have been carried out that have identified up to 15 dangerously unstable cliff sections which will be shaved back. Parts of the undercliff walk will be closed in the interests of public safety while the work proceeds.Mr Frost warned there was always a risk of further cliff falls in periods of severe weather. The council is carrying out public consultation on its coastal defence strategy for the next 50 years. It includes plans to build a sea wall to defend homes between Telscombe Cliffs and Fairlight Avenue and a Ł1.86 million rolling maintenance programme on existing defences.

Can Geotechnical at work at Saltdean on 29 June 2001.

Homes in peril from the sea

The Argus, 04 May 2001

by Claire Hu
Homes are at risk of being swallowed up by the sea unless a rock wall is built to protect them in the next 50 years. Between ten and 30 metres of cliff are predicted to erode away in the next half century, raising fears about threats to property, amenities, wildlife and ancient structures. Lewes District Council commissioned consultants to develop a coastal defence strategy plan for the area between Saltdean and Newhaven until 2050.
The report says existing sea defences needs to be properly maintained and new defences will be needed in some unprotected areas to protect assets. However, the A259 coastal road is not thought to be at risk. The report says: "The constant erosion and abrasion from the sea of the undefended frontage of the chalk cliffs between Saltdean and Newhaven will inevitably result in further losses of cliff edge of varying magnitudes over a period of time."
An area from Telscombe Cliffs to Fairlight Avenue is under threat from crumbling cliffs and will need to be protected at a cost of Ł445,000 to save assets including homes and The Esplanade, it says. During the wettest winter since records began, there have been cliff falls at Brighton Marina, some near properties, at Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven and West Beach in Newhaven. Lindsay Frost, director of planning and environment at the council, said it was competing with other local authorities for Government cash for defences and needed to weigh up the cost and benefits. He said: "The analysis concluded a rock revetment was needed to protect some cliff-top properties. In the worst case scenario, the houses will be rendered useless if the road is lost to the sea because they will be inaccessible."
Mr Frost said the council had 50 years to consider how areas should be protected and would probably apply for money to build the revetment in 2013. It would cost about Ł1.86 million for a rolling programme of maintenance of existing defences. Telscombe councillor David Neighbour said councils had to weigh up potential threats to property with the demands of conservationists, who did not want the forces of nature to be interfered with. Public meetings to discuss the coastal defence strategy will be held at Meeching Hall in Newhaven on Tuesday between 2.30pm and 8pm and at Telscombe Civic Centre on May 16 at 7pm.