Cornwall Council has put forward plans for new sea defences in Coverack (near The Lizard) after a sea wall was damaged by a major flood.

CORMAC, a company wholly owned by the council, has submitted a pre-application enquiry about plans to build new sea defences in the village.

Coverack was hit by a flash flood in July 2017 which is believed to have been the most intense rainfall ever recorded in the UK.

The flood caused major damage in the village including to the road and to the sea defences which are now proposed to be improved.

CORMAC's pre-application submission is for a 120-metre section of coastal defences along an undefended stretch of Coverack Beach.

A planning statement submitted with the application states:

"The development is necessary in order to protect Coverack from further coastal erosion and flooding following storms in 2017 which damaged an existing seawall.

"Without the proposed development further erosion of the cliffs is likely to pose a risk to the main access road (B3294) and local residents living in dwellings in close proximity to the cliffs and exacerbate flood risk.

"The proposed development will increase the village's resilience to future climate change impacts, with predicted future sea level rise and increased precipitation likely to increase coastal erosion rates and flooding."

In submitting the pre-application CORMAC is asking the council to give guidance on the design of the proposed sea defences as well as the impact on the environment and culture of the area.

The applicant has also asked whether an Environmental Impact Assessment would be needed for the application.

The responses given by the council will help to develop a full planning application should the development be deemed acceptable in principle.

Following the 2017 flooding in Coverack Cornwall Council published a report reviewing the incident.

It described the flooding as:

"An extremely intense rainfall of about 200mm in three hours occurred in the area of Coverack. This was possibly the most intense storm ever recorded in the UK.

"In Coverack itself around 50 properties flooded, the road through the village was destroyed and a landslide caused the loss of the coast path. In neighbouring St Keverne eleven properties flooded, one flooded at Porthallow and flood damage also occurred in Porthoustock."