Landslip fears as Scarborough waits for new bypass

23 April 2008

A major road feeding the Yorkshire coastal resort of Scarborough could be cut off by landslips before the bypass being built to help combat the threat is completed.

Two cliff-top bungalows in the Cayton Bay area of the seaside town have been demolished in the last two weeks, as landslips continue to eat away at the cliff edge, which has receded by 20ft over the winter.

Now, there is growing concern that the nearby A165 Filey Road, which links Scarborough to the neighbouring resort of Bridlington, could become cut off by the landslips A bypass is under construction, but will not be completed until the autumn.

The National Trust, which owns part of the cliff top affected, has brought in consulting engineer Halcrow, which says initial investigations point to the A165 being under threat. Paul Fish, Halcrow geomorphologist, said the investigating team was concerned about large cracks which had appeared in nearby woods.

‘If this area begins to move, it could make parts of Filey Road particularly unstable,’ he said. ‘The landslip at Knipe Point is starting to expand towards Filey Road and potentially this could affect that area.’ John Riby, head of technical services at Scarborough Borough Council, said he believed there was no immediate danger to the road, but staff were monitoring the situation closely, and a team was in place to react immediately.

He told Surveyor: ‘When the bypass was being considered, we raised a concern that, in the long term, the road could be subject to slippage as a result of coastal erosion, and this concern was one of many factors explored when deciding where the new bypass should be situated.’ Fish said investigations pointed to the cause of the landslips being excessive ground water, but whether this was simply down to heavy rainfall over a prolonged period had not yet been established.

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