New Milton Advertiser 16th Oct 2020

Friday 16th October 2020 · 11 News

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More damage to sea wall sees costs soar

Fisherman caught by tide RNLI rescuers went to the aid of a spear fisherman caught in a strong tidal cur- rent off Hengistbury Head. The alarm was raised shortly after 4pm last Thurs- day by the victim’s diving buddy who had managed to get back to shore after also getting into difficulty to the east of Long Groyne. HM Coastguard sent lifeboat Mudeford Servant to assist the man who had been swept to the west. He was pulled on board by the RNLI crew and taken safely ashore. Two-year ban for drink-driver A MARCHWOOD man who was more than three times the legal drink-drive limit has been banned from the roads for two years. At Southampton Magis- trates’ Court Thomas Hurley (40), of St John’s Drive, pleaded guilty to the offence which took place on 18th October last year. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of un- paid work and an impaired drivers’ programme, and pay costs of £175. Pupil road safety push goes online A HARD-HITTING road safety campaign targeting young people has gone digi- tal this year due to Covid-19 restrictions. Coordinated by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Safe Drive Stay Alive initiative is aimed at pupils aged 11-13. Instead of live presentations in front of the children, this year shows were pre-recorded and deliv- ered to schools online. Firefighters, medics, police officers and bereaved parents have recounted their stories, often in heartbreak- ing detail.

Glynne Miles (centre right) at Beaulieu with Lady Montagu (right)

Storms and erosion cause failure of another stretch

Going the extra Miles for Forest Citizens Advice

BY ROZ WATERS

THE £1.5m cost of emergency work to repair a section of failed sea wall at Milford has escalat- ed by a further £325,000 as re- cent storms and erosion caused more damage. Urgent efforts to safeguard a 180-metre section of sea wall near Paddy’s Gap was launched by New Forest District Council in August following a consul- tants’ report which warned that around 50 properties, includ- ing the Grade II listed White House, were at “imminent risk” this winter. A £600,000 contribution from the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee was con- firmed in September towards the urgent work already under way. NFDC is currently working on a bid to the Environment Agency (EA) for up to £1.2m to offset the cost of the project. However, NFDC has now re- vealed that project costs have escalated by £325,000 after storm damage and bad weather led a further 38-metre section of the sea wall to fail, resulting in the erosion of a seven-metre section of cliffs. In a statement on Tuesday, the authority announced it has put forward a further £325,000 and set aside an additional £300,000 contingency fund for the project. Cllr Alison Hoare, NFDC cab- inet member for environment, said: “Without additional fund- ing at this stage the sea defenc- es are at imminent risk. We are doing what we can to protect the coastline at Milford even though we do not have a stat- utory duty to do so or to fund. “We continue to work with the Environment Agency to ex- plore all funding options. “Although there is always a

CITIZENS trustee Glynne Miles lived up to his name by going the extra dis- tance to raise funds for the or- ganisation’s New Forest opera- tion. He completed a combined 50 miles to collect £1,700 for the charity which has helped over 2,000 local residents during the pandemic. Glynne, a Totton resident and former head of services at New Forest District Coun- cil, said: “I really enjoyed the challenge of running between all five Citizens Advice offices across the New Forest. “I set off from the Totton of- fice on Sunday 13th September and split the challenge into five stages, running approximately 50 miles in total taking in all five Advice

offices in Totton, Hythe, Lym - ington, New Milton and finish - ing at Ringwood library on 25th September.” He was inspired to do the challenge by the work he had witnessed being carried out by Citizens Advice during the coronavirus outbreak. Lady Montagu, patron of the New Forest branch, said: “Citizens Advice does a fan - tastic job to support New For- est residents – it is there when you need some help to sort out problems in life. “Never has there been a more important time to show your support for this vital local char- ity.” To donate to the CAB visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Citi zensAdviceNewForest

More than 200 metres of the sea wall at Milford now needs to be repaired (Photo: Graham Wiffen)

ther because bad weather has meant rocks had to be deliv- ered by road rather than sea. If the council is unsuccessful in its funding application to the Environment Agency, the cost to NFDC could run to £1.5m. However, the council has pledged to maximise all opportunities for third party funding to reduce its own costs. Cllr Hoare said: “We have been working with the Envi- ronment Agency to seek po- tential funding options and understand feasibility of works to remedy the seawall failure in Milford. “The council agreed to un- derwrite urgent works to the value of £1.5m with an expec- tation that the majority of the costs will be recouped through funding applications to the En-

vironment Agency and South- ern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.” She concluded: “Considering the additional costs identified, added contingencies and al- lowing for the approved SRF- CC funding and anticipated EA funding, council spending on the project is expected to total £400,000.” NFDC had initially been re- luctant to take on the project claiming it had no legal respon- sibility as it did not own the land concerned. However, the authority sub- sequently agreed to under- write the £1.5m cost of the first phase of urgent repair work in the hope that money could be recouped via grants from the Environment Agency and the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee.

risk that any funding applica- tion may be turned down, we are quietly confident that by underwriting this project now we will be able to complete the essential urgent works and off- set our spending though the various grant process before the end of this financial year.” Further cracking and move- ment has been identified in the sea wall towards the White House and the beach level has lowered further, requiring even more rock for the barrier con- struction. Council contractors also found the access road to the site has eroded and needs re- pair. Following changes to the seabed, an additional specialist vehicle will now be needed to enable the barge to deliver rock to the beach. Costs have increased fur-

Match made in Devon for outgoing vicar Paul

THE vicar for Hordle and Tip- toe has said goodbye to his con- gregation after accepting a new post in Devon. The Rev. Paul Taylor, who has served the parish for 12 years, had been very active in the community alongside his wife, Alison, a nurse at Lymington hospital. During the Rev. Paul’s time at the church he has overseen the development of a band for more contemporary worship, along-

side traditional services as well as the growth of home groups for prayer and Bible study, a new all-age family service, and combined services with other local churches. At their final service last month, Rev. Paul, Alison and daughters Ella and Holly were given gifts and thanked for their time in the community. A replacement vicar is not expected to join the parish for around six to 12 months.

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