MORE than £11.5 million could be spent in the next few years to stop one of West Somerset’s key coast roads falling into the sea.

The B3191 at Cleeve Hill, on the western edge of Watchet, has been closed several times in the last few years due to coastal erosion – including one occasion just after Christmas following reports of a landslide.

There are now plans for a major scheme which would see the cliffs reinforced and the road diverted south by 2025, to protect more than 20 properties and prevent Watchet from being cut off.

A report published by consultants WSP in late July identified a number of possible schemes for protecting the B3191 in both Watchet and the nearby village of Blue Anchor.

A total of six schemes were proposed for Watchet – ranging from stabilising the existing cliffs (which could cost up to £14.48m) to a new bypass through the former paper mill site (up to £71.7m) and even a new tidal lagoon to surround the town’s harbour (upwards of £1bn).

Somerset County Council has now picked an option which entails strengthening up to 350 metres of the lower cliff slopes, and moving the B3191 inland towards Saxon Close to allow traffic to bypass the most at-risk stretch.

This scheme is expected to cost between £18.3m and £28.1m – of which £11.55m will be spent on the coastal reinforcement.

This figure was confirmed in papers published before a meeting of the Environment Agency’s Wessex regional flood and coastal committee yesterday (Thursday).

Of the £11.55m earmarked for this scheme, £10m will be provided by the county council, with the rest coming from Environment Agency.

The funding will be used to conduct detailed surveys of the Cleeve Hill cliffs, develop a detailed design for the preventative measures and ensure they are constructed and operational by March 2025.

For the full report, by local democracy reporter Daniel Mumby, see today’s Free Press.