Published on Thursday 28 January 2021
Seven depleted beach areas from Southbourne to Poole will be renourished with sand and beach material from February 2021 as part of the Poole Bay Beach Management Scheme which is designed to make the coastline more climate resilient.
By 2 February contractors Boskalis Westminster Ltd. anticipate the Dutch dredger ‘Willem van Oranje’ will arrive off the coast at our first top-up location between Southbourne Beach and Solent Beach. Sand and beach material will be pumped ashore and levelled by large machinery. When this area is complete, the operation will move westwards towards Boscombe Pier.
Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste commented:
"Sand is BCP Council’s frontline coastal defence. This £7.5 million project will see around 350,000m3 of sand and beach material being pumped ashore across eight depleted beach areas. Without these cyclic renourishments, properties, highways and supporting infrastructure would be lost to coastal erosion so it’s important to ensure the beach levels remain high enough to provide the required level of protection."
In May 2020, BCP Council received confirmation from the Environment Agency that it had been awarded £33 million of government funding for essential coast protection works in Poole Bay. In combination with the seawall to protect the cliff toe from erosion, beach management is required to maintain a beach profile capable of withstanding extreme storm events. This is provided by renourishing our beaches with material dredged from an offshore licenced area. Throughout the process, continual checks will be made to ensure the particle size of imported material closely matches the existing beaches.
In the immediate area of the works, the beaches will be closed for safety reasons, but access will be maintained along the promenade to enable beach users to pass by safely. People are encouraged to take extra care when in the vicinity of large machinery and keep dogs on leads.
It is anticipated that all works will be completed by Spring 2021, subject to weather conditions, tides and working arrangements based on latest COVID-19 guidance.
More information and updates are available on poolebay.net