Drone could be used to monitor North Yorkshire coastal erosion
North Yorkshire Council has submitted a £75,000 funding application to the Environment Agency to deploy a drone on the coast to monitor erosion as part of a government-backed scheme.
If approved, the funding will cover the purchase of a drone, associated licencing, data and software and will contribute to training three officers. The council aims to use drones with laser-mapping technology to improve the evidence base for coastal adaptation planning, evacuation planning and coastal strategy updates.
Currently, North Yorkshire Council relies on biennial drone monitoring supplied through the National Network of Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes. However, the existing data is often limited in complex cliff environments due to vegetation cover, infrequent capture and delays between data collection and delivery.
Several communities, including those at Flat Cliffs in Filey, face significant risk to residential property, access routes and essential infrastructure. The council's shoreline management policy for the affected coastal sites is one of no active intervention, meaning no new coastal defences are planned.
As a result, effective monitoring of cliff instability and erosion is essential to inform adaptation planning, early warning systems, evacuation planning and community engagement. Council officers emphasised that improved monitoring capabilities are crucial given the absence of planned defensive infrastructure.
On Thursday, councillor Malcolm Taylor, executive member for highways and transportation, approved the application to the Environment Agency's £12m coastal adaptation programme.
The proposed drone system would enable the council to gather more frequent and detailed data about coastal changes, particularly in complex cliff zones where current monitoring methods struggle due to vegetation and other environmental factors. This enhanced capability would support the council's efforts to manage coastal risks in communities facing ongoing threats from erosion.