 It became apparent that the cliff was eroding at a rate not previously recognised, which was likely to endanger several properties above it.A group of local residents in Shotley Gate, informally known as the Shotley Stour Footpath Renovation Group, began a long term project to deal with the issue, which eventually led to the Group (with assistance from the Parish Council) obtaining funding for sea defences to protect the first of the exposed area from a number of sources including Suffolk County Council, the Environment Agency, the Haven Gateway Partnership, Hutchison Ports, Suffolk Coasts & Heaths and Shotley Parish Council, as well as local fundraising; in total, these defences (which were installed by Welham Plant Ltd under the project management of the Stour Footpath Group and Hawes Associates) cost just under £40,000 to install, with a further £60,000 subsequently raised for defences along the remaining of exposed cliff and for the renovation of a derelict picnic area at the other end of the footpath, both hopefully to be completed in 2011 (£18,000 of this funding came as a result of the Shotley project winning the Haven Gateway Authority's 'I Love Landscapes' competition in May 2011, the project receiving 1413 votes from the public).Phase two of the sea defence work began on 11 July 2011, extending the defences to the far end of Shotley Cliff and creating a maintenance path to the rear of them which effectively links the remains of two public footpaths to create a continuous coastal path (albeit one which in "theory" is not a 'public footpath' for the entirety of its length).