SECTIONS of a coastal prom are to be temporarily closed to allow work to be undertaken to reinstate beach huts damaged by storms earlier this year.

More than 130 huts were dislodged along the north Essex coast after Storm Ciara struck in February.

The total cost of repairing the damage nationwide was put at more than £1billion with thousands of pounds of repairs needed in Essex.

Three sets of works to beach huts are taking place in Brightlingsea, Frinton and Holland-on-Sea with sections of promenade to be temporarily closed as a result.

Engineers from Tendring Council had been working on a number of projects before work was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now as restrictions are lifted, the schemes are recommencing.

In Brightlingsea, work to recover 100 beach huts, some which had been moved by exceptionally high tides early in the year, had been delayed, but was finally resumed yesterday.

In Frinton, replacement bases were being installed for sections of 10 beach huts at The Leas and this work will also resume on Monday.

Meanwhile work to secure a cliff slippage in Holland-on-Sea, in the York Road/Cliff Road area, will also start next week.

This will see 20 beach huts moved to clear the area for work to take place.

Sections of the promenade will be temporarily closed at various times to allow the work to be carried out safely.

Most closures will only be short sections, but at Holland-on-Sea a longer piece of the prom will be shut off, which means walkers will need to use the beach or the upper promenade.

Alex Porter, Tendring Council’s cabinet member for leisure and tourism, apologised for any inconvenience caused by the works.

“We are sorry for the disruption this work will lead to, but it is necessary to ensure the safety of passers-by and the engineering team while these projects are carried out,” he said.

“Due to health restrictions and urgent work needed to support our response to Covid-19, these schemes had to be put on the backburner.

“I am pleased we are now able to pick them up where we left off.

“This will hopefully mean our seafronts are looking at their best when restrictions are fully lifted.”