Our Projects - St Mary’s Bay path improvement

Land slippage in early 2014 caused the closure of the Coast Path on the edge of Brixham between Sharkham Point and Berry Head.  This is a very popular section of the Path, adjacent to large holiday parks on the outskirts of Brixham, and the diversion route was long and convoluted, heading inland through a residential area, and caused many people to lose their way. This project is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest as the nearby cliffs support the largest colony of Guillemots on the South Coast of England, and permission had to be sought from Natural England prior to starting the work. As the work was on a small scale, and was not too close to the colony, assent was granted.

After the section stabilised new steps were constructed in early Spring 2015 and the Path reopened. The underlying shale made construction of the replacement steps difficult, and the planned hand rail could not be installed as further excavation of the bank would have been needed, incurring considerable extra costs, even if permission were to be granted.

Contractor: Tor2 of Torbay