Coastal Erosion Will Begin Affecting Housing Estate at Glen Wyllin In 90 Years, Claims Minister
3rd July 2015
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It is likely to take more than 90 years before the Broogh Wyllin housing estate in Kirk Michael is engulfed by the sea, according to MHK Richard Ronan.
The member for Castletown, who is also Minister for Environment Food and Agriculture, said the calculation was based on the erosion rate between 2001 and 2013 which showed land being lost at a rate of 0.7 metres per year on average.
‘It will be 2034 before the nearest house is affected and 2104 before the first house in Broogh Wyllin is affected. We are at least two to three generations away from this but there are more studies to be done on the geology and bedrock in Kirk Michael,’ he said.
Other studies showed the average rate of erosion in that area between Glen Wyllin and Balleira were 0.59 metres per year between 1869 and 2013. The cost of work to secure the coastline in that area was likely to be £6 million to £8 million, ‘so it’s unlikely that a business case could be agreed until a significant number of properties are at more direct risk of damage, which is some distance away,’ Mr Ronan added.
Michael MHK Alfred Cannan suggested that placing rock revetments along the coast would help the situation without placing a sudden £8 million hit on the coastal defence budget but Mr Ronan said the issue needed to be tackled on a national basis rather than locally.
‘We are moving as fast as we can with the money available but in Kirk Michael it’s important to understand the geology involved,’ he told Keys members.
