News

14 Nov 05

Work To begin on Beaches Replenishment

Poole, Bournemouth and Purbeck Councils will be undertaking major beach replenishment work this winter to improve the standard of defence against storms.

 

The sand will be dredged from Poole Harbour channels and approaches and taken by dredger to the beaches where the sandy material is to be deposited.  These will include stretches of Poole, Bournemouth and Swanage beaches.

 

Due to the shallow water in Poole Bay, the dredger will need to pump the sand through a long pipe onto the beach.  To assist the sand in being pumped, it is mixed with a considerable amount of water and as the water/sand mixture exits the pipe, the water flows back into the sea leaving the sand behind.  The sand is then spread and levelled by bulldozers.

 

The £5million beach replenishment work is being funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) funding the majority of the dredging of the harbour. Defra will also pay a proportion of the cost of dredging.

 

In total two million cubic metres of material will be dredged to deepen the harbour and approaches of which about 1.1million m3 will be suitable for beach replenishment. Poole beaches will receive 450,000m3 from Shore Road to Branksome Dene Chine, Bournemouth beaches 600,000m3 and Swanage 90,000m3.

 

Cllr Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Environment, Borough of Poole, said: "The local Councils of Poole, Bournemouth and Purbeck need the sand to replenish beaches and by working in partnership with PHC we save the tax payer between £8million and £15million. Not only will the project result in sea walls being protected it also means our award winning beaches are maintained in the most cost effective way."

 

During the work the beach will be open to the public but in the interests of health and safety it will be necessary to stop people using short  sections of the beach when the sand is being pumped from the dredgers and the heavy plant is moving around.  The promenades will remain open even when the pumping is being undertaken at Poole and Bournemouth but may be closed at Swanage as a result of the groyne works.

 

It is proposed that dredging will begin in mid November and replenishment of the beaches from late November and early December to be complete by February 2006.

 

Initially the new sand will look darker than that of the current beach, but will lighten to a normal colour with exposure to oxygen and daylight.  Within a few weeks, the action of the wind and waves will mix the sand to look more like the existing beach.  Whilst this is happening there will be small ledges cut into the front of the beach as the wave action naturally sorts the sand, these will disappear as the sand is moved into a natural beach profile.

 

During the placing of material on the beaches, it will be regularly inspected for any unsuitable material.

 

When the environmental studies for the dredging project were carried out, what is believed to be a 17th Century wreck was located on the edge of the proposed dredge area.  English Heritage has been informed and the wreck site is now a designated area of national importance.  Whilst the wreck site and its immediate surrounding area will not be disturbed during the dredging, there is a chance that some material of archaeological importance may be pumped onto the beach.  Anyone finding anything of interest should telephone 01202 261354 and give details of what they found and where.

 

 

 

Rachael Mills, Media Relations Manager, Communications, Borough of Poole tel 01202 633295

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