Council hit by £700,000 bill to repair coastal path after land slips

Bruce Sinclair, local democracy reporter

Works on a beach-side coastal path, repeatedly hit by landslides since late 2023, has cost the council nearly £700,000 to date, councillors have been told.

The coastal path near Saundersfoot and Wisemans Bridge, known as the Tramway, is currently closed after the latest landslides and is expected to remain so until the early summer, after a further fall happened towards the western end of the Wisemans Bridge to Coppet Hall cycleway, between the Coppet Hall and Wisemans Bridge tunnels, affecting access between Wisemans Bridge and Coppet Hall beach.

The top path remains open.

‘Substantial rock falls’

The coastal path was previously closed after it experienced ‘substantial rock falls’ in late 2023 and early 2024, with substantial investment made by the council to reopen the route before the latest landslides.

At the March 6 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a submitted question on the landslip-hit coastal path, made by Cllr Alan Dennison, was heard.

Cllr Dennison asked: “Could the Cabinet Member responsible for Highways provide information on the total expenditure incurred for the repair of the original landslip at Amroth including the projected costs for addressing the most recent landslip, and is the council pursuing reimbursement from the landowner and if not, why not?”

Responding, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said costs associated with the original 2023-’24 landslips amounted to £453,412, lower than the original estimates, with the costs of the more recent landslips currently amounting to some £235,000 to date.

Remedial costs

On the question of reimbursement, he said: “The collapse of the cliff face is a natural occurrence rather than a deliberate action so therefore remedial costs will not be reasonable from the landowner,” the council having a duty to clear obstructions from the path as it was a right of way.

In a supplementary question, Cllr Dennison raised the issue of a long-term coastal path closure in his own area, Hakin Point, Milford Haven, asking if any remediation works work be done there.

Cllr Sinnett told members there was a legal duty to undertake works at the Wisemans path as falls had obstructed a public right of way, the Hakin path differing as its landslide had resulted in the loss of the majority of the path.

He said there was no possibility of requiring the owners of the Hakin path to restore it after its “Act of God” loss.

A temporary prohibition order affecting access to the Wisemans Bridge path was made by the local authority late in February, expected to last some four months.

During last year’s works at Wiseman’s Bridge, local councillor Chris Williams hit out at “selfish” path users putting others at risk by repeatedly cutting open safety barriers and fencing while the repair works were being undertaken.