Sidestrand school could be redeveloped despite erosion

Plans have been lodged for Sidestrand Hall School, located at Cromer Road, Sidestrand, that involve knocking down up to ten of its smaller buildings and replacing them with a larger multipurpose building.

If approved, the new building would be located on the southern side beyond the Coastal Erosion Constraint Area (CECA), land which is predicted to be lost to the sea within 80 years.

Sidestrand Hall school is just above the cliffs in this picture showing debris left in the aftermath of a cliff collapse in 2019 (Image: Archant) The project would be funded by the Department of Education’s school rebuilding programme, a scheme that aims to replace school buildings on sites that are in dire need of redevelopment. 

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The location of the school in relation to the cliff edge (Image: Google) READ MORE: East Runton rats 'the size of dogs' being tackled by council
The Department for Education has prioritised the school as one of the first 200 projects to be started under the initiative.

Visualisations of the new building (Image: NNDC)However, coastal erosion has caused significant land slippage close to the school in recent years, and the northern area of the site could be lost within decades.

There was a cliff fall in 2019 which saw several tonnes of earth fall onto the beach beneath the school.

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North Norfolk’s District Council’s coastal erosion team has been consulted as coastal erosion is an identified constraint affecting the school.

Council planning documents said: “The cliffs between Cromer and Mundesley are particularly prone to impacts from surface and ground water, which can contribute to coastal erosion.

A graph showing the extent of indicative Coastal Erosion Areas 2005-2105 across the school site (Image: NNDC) “As such, surface water run-off from the new structure should be collected and removed, either via any existing sewer network along with wastewater or in a way that mimics natural infiltration.”

A planning document indicates that infiltration of surface water to the ground might make conditions within the CECA worse, leading to further coastal erosion in the vicinity of the site.

Measures would be taken to ensure that the new development does not further impact upon erosion including a below ground drainage network taking the water to an oversized soakaway outside of the coastal erosion line.