A major new sea defence project for Clacton and Holland-on-Sea costing up to £27million is being prepared to go out to public consultation.

Tendring District Council (TDC) has been working with consultants Mott MacDonald to come up with a scheme for the coastline between Holland Haven and Clacton Pier.

The Clacton and Holland-on-Sea Flood and Erosion Strategy has now been approved by the Environment Agency which is waiting for a Project Appraisal Report (PAR) to be completed.

The next stage in that process is to take the various options out to consultation with the public and it is planned to carry this out later this month and early next month.

Five options have been developed by Mott Macdonald for the areas identified as being at the greatest risk from erosion by the sea.

These involve:

- Doing nothing at all

- A beach recharge with straight rock groynes

- A beach recharge with fishtail rock groynes

- A beach recharge with a combination of both fishtail and straight rock groynes

- A beach recharge with a combination of rock groynes and rock revetment.

TDC Leader Peter Halliday said that Tendring’s 36 miles of coastline and award-winning beaches are the District’s greatest asset, but also one of its biggest challenges in terms of being difficult and expensive to manage.

“What we have been working on is a plan which will protect our environment and at the same time help us to develop a thriving tourist industry which is absolutely vital to the Tendring economy,” he said.

“If we do nothing over the next 100 years we run the risk of losing around 3,000 properties, roads and other facilities and we will not let that happen.”

The target is to submit a final document to the Environment Agency’s Large Project Review Group by May this year and seek grant funding. If it gets the go ahead and the finances are in place it is aimed to start construction early in 2015.

Nick Turner, TDC’s Cabinet Member for the Environment and Coast Protection, said that a great deal of progress has been made in the past 12 months.

“The Council has put £3million on the table towards whichever scheme is chosen and we are now as close as we have ever been to coming up with a project which is acceptable and affordable,” he said.

“We are working very closely with both Essex County Council – who has potentially matched our £3million - and the Environment Agency, and are confident that a sustainable project can be achieved.

“It will involve more than just protecting the coastline but also create new jobs, regenerating the area and adding to our tourism offer.”

The most urgent work needs to be carried at Holland Haven and it is anticipated that work would start there.The Council’s proposals for coast protection work will also include a commitment to reinstating the beach at Holland-on-Sea.

A full progress report will be made to TDC’s Cabinet Meeting on January 23.