More than £7m will be spend shoring up sea defences in Cromer and Mundesley in two major new schemes.

The works in Cromer could include a 300-metre rock barrier called a revetment west of the pier, and repair works to groynes, navigation aids and sea walls.

Plans for Mundesley include improved access to the east prom, a rock revetment and rock armour to protect the lifeboat station and other structures, with the aim of minimising coastal erosion.

Angie Fitch-Tillett, North Norfolk District Council's cabinet member for coastal management, said the schemes were still being designed and would be put out to tender in the New Year. She said the plan was for the works to start in late 2022 and take about 18 months in total.

She said: "It will be stop and start so we can avoid the tourist season. One of the issues is that costs of materials and availability are going up and up, so that's very much a grey area.

"The protection against the threat of erosion and the effects of climate change will enable these important seaside destinations to be enjoyed for generations to come, along with benefitting local business reliant on tourism."

Ms Fitch-Tillett said the plans had been a long time in the making. She said: “The same contractors will be used for both schemes. We’re importing rock armour, and some of that will come from the same source using the same barges.

“At long last we’ll be able to press the go button.”

Dr Mike Bossingham, Cromer's mayor, said of the plans: "It's a balance between protecting our beach and our prom and maintaining access to it and the look of it.

"Anyone who walks along the prom knows it is being damaged at the moment, it is being undermined. It's an issue with the sand, which is shifting eastwards along the coast."

The projects fall under Coastal Partnership East, which combines NNDC's resources with Great Yarmouth and East Suffolk councils.

Cromer's works will be phase two of an extended scheme - the first phase of which was finished in 2015 at a cost of £8m, which helped to repair damage from devastating storms in 2013.