Work on a major £831k project to boost sea defences and help protect local homes for the future is set to start late August/early September - with a key programme of beach management works in the Deal, Walmer and Kingsdown area.
Works include a new rock groyne at Sandown Castle, Deal, and three rock groynes at Wellington Parade, Walmer. The project forms a significant part of the five year Oldstairs Bay to Sandwich Bay Estate Beach Management Works, for which Dover District Council secured £1.5 million of funding from the Environment Agency.
The contract for the works has been awarded to Breheny Civil Engineering. Breheny is an experienced civil engineering contractor with a wealth of local knowledge across East Kent. The project will be overseen by local authority engineers working in partnership under the East Kent Engineering Partnership.
The rock groyne at Sandown Castle has been designed to be sympathetic to the castle remains and will not be visible from the road. The construction has gained Scheduled Monument Consent, granted by Historic England, and will be monitored on site by archaeologists. Once the groyne is constructed, a large beach recycling exercise will take place, bringing shingle from north of Sandown Castle back to the Deal frontage. The works at Deal are expected to last approximately 6 weeks.
The rock groynes at Wellington Parade will offer a long term solution, reducing the frequency and magnitude of future beach recycling operations. Once the groynes are constructed, a large recycling operation will be undertaken to bring shingle back from around Walmer Castle to Kingsdown and Wellington Parade. The works along Wellington Parade are expected to last approximately 12 weeks.
Cllr Oliver Richardson, DDC Cabinet Member for Environment said: “We are very pleased to confirm that work is set to start on this major project to boost sea defences and protect homes. We are working to minimise disruption, but there will inevitably be some noise and movement of heavy plant during the works, and we thank everyone in advance for their cooperation and understanding.”
There will be staff on site looking after the safety of the public, but it is advised that dogs and children are well supervised and that all machinery is given a wide berth. Please remember to observe social distancing at all times.
Posted on 22 July 2020