Fresh plan to stabilise cliffs for new homes
PLANS have been submitted to place nets on cliffs where a luxury homes development in Cornwall has been proposed – after a series of rock falls.
The cliffs at Whipsiderry Beach, in Porth, Newquay, were last subject to a huge landslip on December 19 last year which saw tonnes of rock plummet down the 200ft cliff face and on to the beach below.
It came after a previous cliff fall less than a month earlier, on November 29 last year.
At the time, the Save Whipsiderry Cliffs campaign – which has held protests and even stopped work as part of its high-profile opposition to the development – said the cliffs had become “highly unstable” and predicted “much more” of it would fall.
A drone survey and investigation has since been carried out on behalf of the developer, Wales-based Living Quarter Properties (Porth) Ltd, and an application has now been submitted to Cornwall Council to add rock bolts and meshing to the cliffs to help to stabilise them.
A report states that imagery from the drone survey shows the cliff face is currently unstable and that there is potential for further landslip if left in its current state. “Unfortunately, the size and effect of the next rockfall cannot be predicted,” the report says.
“The geological setting is such that there is no obvious pattern to the rock falls, however, the cave immediately to the south of the current rock fall is larger, and has more of an overhang above it, suggesting that the next rock fall could be far more significant.”
The study adds that the previous landslip has provided benefits to the cliff’s stability. The report says: “The cliff profile is no longer undercut, making remediation simpler, and there is exposure of good quality rock on the face.”
It suggests that rock bolting and meshing with a regular maintenance and renewal regime would provide suffcient stabilisation to reduce erosion
‘Unfortunately, the size and effect of the next rockfall cannot be predicted’ INVESTIGATOR’S REPORT
to an acceptable level to provide protection to the proposed development for at least 125 years.
Living Quarter Properties (Porth) Ltd caused a stir last year when it started work on the beach below at Whipsiderry. The company fenced off part of the beach while it craned down diggers to pull rocks from the beach to backfill the cliff caves and drill concrete holes into the cliff face to shore it up, which sparked the protests that saw police attend and work halted.
Living Quarter Properties wants to build luxury apartments above and has planning permission to do so. Its scheme has angered local residents who fear it will destroy the beach below and damage the cliffs which are habitats for rare nesting birds and bats, as well as species of endangered flowers.