A major £36 million sea defence scheme along the Tendring coastline costing up to £36 million has been given the final go ahead.

The project – the biggest ever for the District and covering 5kms from Clacton Pier to Holland Haven – was signed off by the Environment Agency (EA) today (11 September).

Work is due to start in just over a year and will involve building fish tail groynes along that section of the coast and will also include a massive beach recharge.

The scheme will protect more than 3,000 homes for the next 100 years and is seen as a catalyst for the renaissance of that area.

Last year, Tendring District Council (TDC) initiated the project by putting up £3million which was matched by Essex County Council (ECC), with a further £1 million expected to be committed by each authority.

Another £526,000 was successfully achieved through the Government’s Growth Fund money and £27 million will come from Flood Defence Grant in Aid from the Environment Agency.

Nick Turner, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Coast Protection, said:

“We have worked incredibly hard with our partners to get where we are today and it really is a dream come true.

“Even though we have come up with a technically sound scheme which meets all the necessary criteria we didn’t dare believe we would be successful until that signature was on the dotted line.

“I have said many times over the past year that we have been building critical mass towards our goal but it has now been achieved.”

Cllr Turner said the Council had been moving ahead with progressing preparatory work – such as essential ground investigations – and is now ready to move ahead.

“This is a momentous day and I want to thank all those who have helped in many ways to get us to this point,” he added.

“We are proud that by TDC putting a significant amount of money on the table that we were able to kick-off the whole process and it has snowballed from there.

“It is the news that many residents in Clacton, Holland and Tendring have been waiting for and I cannot wait for the first digger to get to work.”

TDC Leader Peter Halliday echoed those views and said the project would be the second largest coastal protection scheme in the pipeline in the entire country.

“Various schemes have been put forward for this coastline over many years and have got to various stages in their development,” he said.

“But never have we got to the point where the money has been made available to carry out such a massive project and everyone should be ecstatic with this announcement.

“We promised to deliver this project for our residents and that is what we will now get on with as quickly as is possible.”

Mark Johnson, Coastal Manager for the Environment Agency, added:

“We are absolutely delighted that it’s full steam ahead for this critically important scheme and look forward to continuing the close relationship that we have developed with Tendring District Council and Essex County Council over the last few years.”

The final stage of the bid was submitted to the EA by TDC and its consultants Mott MacDonald in May - they had been waiting on the outcome ever since.

Mott MacDonald had drawn up a number of options which were put out to public consultation earlier this year before the final one was chosen. The Council will now need to seek planning permission for the project and appoint a contractor to undertake the works.

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