Burnham's storm-damaged jetty to close for urgent repairs

Published: January 5, 2007
Exclusive: Burnham's storm-damaged jetty to close for urgent repairs

Burnham-On-Sea's jetty is to shut for emergency repairs after this week's storms caused thousands of pounds of damage, as pictured here.

Large waves whipped up by gale-force winds took their toll on the landmark, raising coping stones and washing away several parts of the tarmac surface.

Sedgemoor District Council, which owns the roadway, told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Thursday evening that it had decided to close off the jetty for safety reasons while repair work is carried out.

"The safety of people who use the jetty is our top priority and that's why the flood gates at the top will be closed to everyone except the emergency services," said council spokeswoman Claire Faun.

She said it was not possible to say how long the repair work would take, although a long closure is unlikely.

"We plan to remove the dislodged tarmac and look at the overall problem in detail, rather than simply patching it up."

"One section of tarmac in the middle of the jetty is badly damaged, but we'll be looking at the jetty as a whole."

This latets damage comes just days after we reported how urgent repairs were carried out to the jetty's navigation beacon after earlier storms in December.