Centre at risk from erosion could get new home

Plans to secure a new home for a heritage centre that could be made unusable by coastal erosion within 30 years have been recommended for approval.

The proposals would see Charmouth Parish Council given government funding to buy Hensleigh House as a potential future home for Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, on Dorset's Jurassic Coast.

A council report warned the centre's seafront building could become uninsurable and was projected to be lost to erosion by about 2055.

Dorset Council's cabinet will meet on Tuesday evening to consider the project.

The authority said it would be among the first in the country to plan for a building's relocation before it comes under immediate threat from erosion.

Jack Jeanes, cabinet member for place services, said the centre was an important attraction for visitors and played "a significant role in Charmouth's identity".

The funding comes from a £3m Environment Agency pot for Charmouth and North Swanage, which must be spent by the end of March 2027.

The purchase price has not been made public.

The parish council would own the new building, but the centre's main operations would stay at the current site for the foreseeable future, with the extra space used for classes.

Long-term plans for Charmouth's shoreline no longer include maintaining its sea defences, as doing so is not considered sustainable.

A 2024 business case for the wider programme estimates 118 households in the village will be lost to erosion over the next 100 years, with 12 at risk within 20 years.