A £6.7 MILLION coastal defence plan that would protect Whitstable for the next 200 years has been approved by Canterbury City Council.

The decision of the executive committee means the proposals will go before the Government's Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for the final go-ahead.

City council officers are confident they will get approval because, although the work is costly, it will safeguard the town for such a long time that the full cost benefit to the area will amount to roughly 20 times the outlay.

The work involves inputting beach materials to areas known to be at risk of erosion, implementing additional groynes, and improving the coastline between Beach Walk and Preston Parade, in Seasalter.

Specifically, the reconstruction of East Quay at Whitstable Harbour is deemed crucial, not only for the continued operation of the harbour but to prevent erosion of the land behind that would otherwise lead to severe flooding of the town.

The approval of the scheme by DEFRA will sanction a Government grant in the region of 75 per cent of the total cost. The remainder of the bill would come from complicated city and county councils' capital programmes, which is revenue set aside for long-term projects.