SEA defences at Shoebury Garrison are continuing to crumble and could end up costing taxpayers money, campaigners fear.

Garrison developers, formerly Country & Metropolitan and now Avant, were meant to repair the seawall around the site where they have built hundreds of homes as part of a section 106 agreement.

Some repairs were carried out where the defences were crumbling but they have proved inadequate and are themselves now falling away.

The Friends of Shoebury Common, the Garrison Residents’ Association and Shoebury Residents’ Association fear they will not be completed before Avant hands back responsibility for the sea defences to Southend Council.

Ray Bailey, from the Friends of Shoebury Common, said: “The repairs to the sea defences should have been done after the developer completed 335 homes. They completed 465 homes in 2015 and we still haven’t had proper repairs carried out. Work that they have done is substandard and not deep enough. The repairs are now actually failing.”

The repairs are needed to the east of Barge Pier between Gog’s Berth.

Further falling away of the substandard repairs are expected to occur between several groynes to the west of Barge Pier. These are rigid structures that interrupt the water flow and limit the movement of sediment.

Mr Bailey added: “The long outstanding concern, which has been repeatedly expressed, is that costs of repairs to the Garrison seawall and sea groynes, that could be huge and should be borne by the developer, will end up having to be picked up by the public purse.”

Mr Bailey said councillors had looked at the damage to the sea defence on a walkabout with technical experts but a promised report has yet to materialise.

A council spokesman, said: “The council has yet to take transfer of the sea defences at Shoebury Garrison, and are still in liaison with the developer Avant Homes to ensure that the repairs required under the Section 106 agreement are completed to our satisfaction prior to taking ownership.”