Sea defence plan to prevent flooding in Coverack - public meeting

St Keverne Parish Council has called the meeting over a planning application for the North Corner end of Coverack.

It has been submitted on behalf of Cornwall Council as the Coast Protection Authority, and the council will also make the decision on the application, as the local planning authority.

To make people aware of the proposals and allow them to give their say, a public meeting will be held in the Lambeage Hall in Coverack at 7pm this Thursday – or outside the hall if more than 50 people attend, due to Covid regulations.

In the application AECOM, the planning agent acting on behalf of CORMAC Solutions, which has been appointed by Cornwall Council for the submission of the full planning application, said the Coverack shoreline was "at risk of substantial erosion" from the sea and flash floods, with the main access road into the village, the B3294, among the assets that could be affected .

Where the sea defence would be placed

The proposed development consists of a new 87m long coastal sea defence wall, comprising a 56m sea wall on top of a rock revetment – a sloping structure built on shorelines, along the base of cliffs or in front of sea walls to absorb and dissipate the energy of waves – in the south, and a 31m rock armour revetment slope in the north.

The Coverack shoreline is said to be considered a "priority location" for action over the next five to ten years.

AECOM said: "No development would result in a section of the B3294 to the north of the existing seawall being undefended and put at risk from coastal erosion.

"Residential properties and the adjacent common land would also be put at risk from coastal erosion. Significant consequences would include an increased risk of landslip and the eventual loss of these assets."

How the beach at Coverack looks now  Picture: AECOM

Other methods had been discounted, including cliff stabilisation considered "ineffective" in protecting against strong ways, and a detached breakwater that was feared to be a "navigational hazard" to small boats and vessels, as well as preventing areas of beach from receiving new sediment.

AECOM said the proposed development was anticipated to have a design life of 50 years, with allowances for climate change.

It was estimated the project would deliver around £8million in benefits, by reducing the risk of coastal erosion to three residential properties and avoiding the cost of disruption associated with the main highway and utilities otherwise needing to be relocated, in addition to non-costed benefits such as maintaining access for emergency services, residents, businesses and tourism.

A cross section of the sea defence

If given permission, work is expected to take between six and nine months to complete. A temporary access ramp from the road to the foreshore would be built as a safe escape route for workers in the intertidal area, and provide access for machinery, such as cranes, on to the beach.

It is proposed to put the site compound in the hardstanding car park 100m away.

In order to build the proposed development, approximately 10,000 cubic metres of rock would be needed – the source of which had yet to be decided, and would be delivered either by barge or road depending on the chosen quarry.