We’re only £350,000 short in race to save historic Naze

Tendring Council will hand £520,000 to the Crag Walk project, which will protect a 100m section of the cliff, in front of the 18th century navigational tower.

The Naze Protection Society has been campaigning to save the eroding cliffs for more than 20 years and has raised £230,000.

Essex County Council has pledged £100,000, but could increase its offer.

It means campaigners are now just £350,000 short of the £1.2million total.

Gladys Firminger, who runs the Save the Naze charity shop, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled about it and very emotional. I have been campaigning more than 20 years for this. We want to save the Naze for everybody – it is such a special place.”

Michelle Nye-Brown, director at the Grade II listed Naze Tower, said: “I think its shows there is real support for protecting the Naze and the Naze Tower.

“I hope the money will enable the Naze Protection Society, working with Essex Wildlife Trust and Tendring Council, to attract the remainder of the funds needed to build the Crag Walk as soon as possible.”

The cash contributed by Tendring Council comes from a £1million pot awarded by the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Peter Halliday, Tendring councillor responsible for finance, said: “It is great to be able to say we are helping to save the Naze.

“This scheme is such an innovative way of protecting our coastline and because there will be an education centre there, we will have hoards of schoolchildren coming to look at the historic nature of the Naze.

“We need to put together a business case to see how this will be delivered, but hopefully things will start happening in a matter of months.”

The additional £350,000 of funding needed will be brought up at the next meeting of the Coastal Renaissance Board, which is chaired by county council leader Lord Hanningfield.

Any decision will then need to be discussed at the county council’s budget setting meeting.