Take concrete beach wall down in time for summer, plead residents

The Affiliation of Christchurch Residents Association, a joint-body that represents the views of residents in the area, will write to Christchurch council to try and remove the wall before the summer holidays.

Chair of the joint-residents' association Sue Bungey said: "We talked about the wall and it was decided that we would write from the joint residents to say again that this wall needs to come down before the start of the summer holidays. They had no business putting it up. They do not have permission to."

Friars Cliff Residents Association chair Marianne Abley echoed the thoughts of Mrs Bungey.

Mrs Abley says residents have made it "very clear" to the council that they feel there was no consolation or communication before the wall went up.

She expressed concerns about the narrowness of the access along the promenade as we head into peak season this summer.

She says residents such as dog walkers, people with push chairs and those in the area who use mobility scooters will find it hard to navigate through the crowds.

She said: "Even in not peak times when the weather is nice it gets congested, so our concern would be about the narrowness and the access. If you're walking along their you can't just step off the promenade now onto the beach to let someone come past."

Mrs Abley says this "obviously will" negatively affect tourists and locals using beach huts.

She added that several residents are also concerned about the plans to replace the temporary wall with a raised promenade next year.

Christchurch council approved the reconstruction of the prom at a full council meeting in February, as part of next year's capital strategy.

The work will cost £120k and will raise a section of the promenade by 900mm to make it level on both sides.

However, several residents have written letters to the council questioning the cost of this reconstruction.

Mrs Abley said: "What residents were saying at our meeting was that if the permanent scheme does go ahead, the amount that has been specified that it will cost seems quite low in terms of the work they are saying they are going to do.

"None of us are engineers but if you are raising the platform and you're raising the wall, is the water going to be going back onto the cliff side? These things have been put forward in letters to the council from several residents."

Conservative councillor Paul Hilliard was present at this meeting where residents put forward their concerns.

At that meeting, a coastal engineer from the council gave a presentation of the plans.

Cllr Hilliard admits the council could have communicated the situation better to the residents, but does not think the plans to keep the wall in place over the summer will be altered.

He said: "I think the officer (at the meeting) gave a very good explanation that it's a two stage process and these blocks were to protect in the short term, but a planning application will go in to raise the level of the promenade so it protects the cliff a lot better.

"It cost ten thousand pounds to put them (the blocks) there, so it would cost ten thousand to take away and then ten thousand to put them back when we want to build up the promenade (next year). I don't think the money is there to do that."