WHAT do you do when you are worried that your new seafront cafe is at constant risk from flooding due to the effects of climate change?

Put it on stilts of course.

That is the solution architects have come up with for a new cafe and visitor centre at Lepe Country Park, the 120-acre attraction used by 300,000 people a year.

Two years ago the existing complex suffered almost £100,000 of damage after it was flooded by a ferocious storm that struck the south coast.

The new glass-fronted structure, earmarked as part of a £2.7million improvement scheme, will be built on top of concrete columns to protect it from rising sea levels and tidal storm surges.

Hampshire County Council, which owns the country park, has already submitted a planning application to the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA).

Councillor Andrew Gibson, executive member for culture, recreation and countryside, said: “This is a major investment which represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Lepe Country Park.

“By investing now we’re improving visitor facilities, making more of its natural and historical features and helping it become more financially self-sustaining.”

Planning documents describe the site as a valuable recreational and educational asset, saying it is one of the few places in the national park where people can enjoy easy access to the coast.

They add: “A recommendation was taken forward to replace the existing visitor centre to ensure that its future operation would be financially sustainable.

“Although the existing facilities are close to the end of their design life, the principal drivers for this project are capacity and rising sea levels.

“In recent years these have had a significant impact. In 2014 a storm rendered the existing visitor centre unusable, resulting in revenue losses and a substantial repair bill.

“The proposed new facility is raised up out of the flood risk zone and is positioned between the upper and lower levels of the park.”

If planning permission is granted the new cafe and visitor centre will be built just to the east of the current facility.

The atrocious weather that struck Lepe and other parts of the Hampshire coast on the night of February 14 2014 became known as the Valentine’s Day Storm.

As reported in the Daily Echo, couples enjoying a romantic meal at The Marine cafe and restaurant in Milford on Sea had to be evacuated.

The 80mph winds also wrecked 119 beach huts at Milford, resulting in a multi-million-pound replacement scheme due to be implemented next year.