A SCHEME costing more than £9m will start next April to stop one of the main tourist routes on the East coast slipping into the sea.

A contract to stabilise and repair the one kilometre stretch of the A174 at Sandsend, which takes traffic from Teesside into Whitby has been approved by North Yorkshire County Council. The road is built on old coastal defences, the former coastal railway line also runs above it and has a long history of landslips.

Campaigners have been battling for years to get work done to stabilise the road and reinforce flood defences. Over the last two winters urgent work has had to be carried out to repair collapses below and above the road.

Councillor David Chance, North Yorkshire County Councillor for Whitby, said the work is vital.

"This is really good news. We have got constant instability on the landward side and the sea driving in from the coastal side. There have often been landslips and disruption over the years. This will protect and ensure the road for the future," he said.

“This has been a real issue for a long time. This is a main tourist route, it’s the major road along the coast and it needs to be maintained. There will be some slight disruption while the works done but the road should still be kept open, particularly during the summer season." The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA is putting up half the cash for the scheme because the work is classed as coastal defences, but the County Council still has to find £4.5m and any additional costs if the budget runs over which councillors have been warned could be up to six per cent.

Lythe Parish Council said in a statement. “ We are delighted to hear the news that the revetment is going to be replaced and additional parking will also be provided, this will make it easier for the large number of visitors to Sandsend.

"The revetment has been very badly damaged over the last two Winters and in particular it suffered severe damage during the storm surge last December. It is also good news that the A174 coast road to Whitby is going to be protected from the sea.”

North Yorkshire’s Corporate Director for Environmental services David Bowe told the authority’s Executive committee which approved the scheme, only one tender had been received for the final contract, from five initial contractors in August.

Work is due to start at Easter with completion by April 2016.