Race against time to save landmark buidling from crumbling cliffside

17 November 2023 , 18:41

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The landmark building is teetering on the cliff edge (Image: Eddie Mitchell)

Workers have begun dismantling a landmark cliff-edge building in East Sussex that is at risk of collapsing due to accelerated coastal erosion.

The plan is to rebuild the Victorian monument further away from the cliff and to relocate the visitor centre on the shoreline. The building, which has become a National Trust Cafe, is at risk due to the "constant changing" of the coast "due to rising sea levels, erosion and weathering", which is sharping the Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters that remain there, according to the Trust.

The Trust has moved the cafe and visitor centre to the rear of the building so that workers can take down the frontal facade. This will protect it from future storms and the erosion of the cliff. Around £150,000 is being invested to adapt the National Trust building.

Construction workers are meticulously peeling off the roof tiles and keeping them on-site to use on the new development (Eddie Mitchell)

A spokesperson for the governing body told the MailOnline: "The National Trust takes a long-term view to planning for the future by working with these coastal processes where possible. The latest adaptions include relocating the cafe into the old visitor centre space, further away from the cliff edge. A new visitor centre has also been created behind the cafe. The section of the building, nearest the cliff edge, is being taken down to ensure we keep visitors safe and continue to adapt to the changing coastline."

The hotel could collapse into the sea without the adaptation project (Eddie Mitchell)

A scaffold is currently set up, teetering on the cliff-edge, where construction workers have been peeling off roof tiles. The work is slow and meticulous, and follows National Trust plans to demolish the building which were submitted earlier this year.

Beauty spot café perched by edge of cliff forced to move due to coastal erosion

The Birling Gap Cafe was thought to have originally been built in the 1870s and has remained in the same place until these plans were put into action. The National Trust submitted its plans to the South Downs National Park authority earlier this year, which detailed how the building will be taken apart. Risk assessments would've had to be included, showing how workers could remain safe despite the threat of cliff falls.

The roof tiles and bricks have to be carefully removed by hand and kept on-site so they can be used in the new location.

A National Trust spokesperson told MailOnline: "The visitor building here at Birling Gap sits on a shoreline that's constantly changing due to rising sea levels, erosion and weathering.

"These natural processes have been occurring for centuries and have shaped Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters that are seen here today.

"The National Trust takes a long-term view to planning for the future by working with these coastal processes where possible. The latest adaptions include relocating the cafe into the old visitor centre space, further away from the cliff edge.

"A new visitor centre has also been created behind the cafe. The section of the building, nearest the cliff edge, is being taken down to ensure we keep visitors safe and continue to adapt to the changing coastline."

Ryan Fahey