Homes Left on Brink By Puzzling Landslip

HOMES left teetering on the brink of crumbling cliffs by a landslip may have to be left to slide into the sea according to the National Trust which owns the land.

Residents at two properties on the Knipe Point beauty spot overlooking Cayton Bay, near Filey, have been evacuated from their homes after their gardens disappeared over the edge of the cliff two months ago.

A survey of the National Trust-owned land is under way to try to determine the cause of the slip – which is not thought to be due to coastal erosion – and a report will be submitted in the summer.

The Trust commissioned the study from the Birmingham offices of the Halcrow town planning group after having to cordon off a public footpath because of concern about land stability.

Residents have been living in fear of a disaster similar to the one in which Holbeck Hall Hotel, Scarborough, a few miles down the road, was destroyed 15 years ago.

Cracks had started to appear in the ground in local woodland and large pools of water had begun to turn some of the land into bog. Studies suggested natural drainage processes and the impact of water seepage and drainage from adjacent developed land were factors causing it to slump.

A Trust spokesman said the problem had “not happened overnight”. It had met with concerned residents to discuss the situation and would consider the outcome of the survey to see if anything could be done.

He added: “We hope it’s not too late but it may be too late for some. If there’s a problem with our land we will see what we can do.”

Trust area manager Liz Fisher said: “It is very doubtful that a permanent solution can be found to the issue of land slumping. But we have commissioned a further report to investigate any mitigating works that can be done to ease the situation.”

The estate contains a mixture of holiday homes and privately- owned properties. Insurers have told some permanent residents to leave as they are too near the cliff’s edge.

One property has been left with its conservatory only inches away from the drop. Local people said the cliff line had retreated by 30 to 40 yards over the past 30 years, but some estimates suggest that up to 20ft has dropped off over winter.

Some residents were concerned that the way the site had been developed, including some tree felling, had led to ecological damage.

Molly Crowcroft, of nearby Filey Road, said: “The Knipe Point development should never have been built. The houses near the edge have always looked precarious.

“As soon as they were put up I said I would give them 30 years. Everyone who lives here knows how much land we have lost over the last 30 years. The ravine has sunk and land has gone back 30 to 40 metres.”

Cracks also began appearing in cliff-top paths some weeks before the June 1993 landslip which destroyed the Holbeck Hall Hotel, when an estimated million tonnes of earth collapsed on to the South Bay beach. After the initial slip in the early hours destruction was swift. By nightfall half the hotel had slid into the sea.

Julie Short, of Osgodby Crescent, reported the cracks while out walking. She said: “I think this is extremely worrying. It could be as bad as the Holbeck Hall disaster.

“Over the winter the coastline has continued to recede and we think it has now receded about six metres. When I was walking in the woods I noticed large cracks and noticeable fissures in the soil.”

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