REPLACING a long groyne along Bournemouth’s coastline will cost around £10m, a council planning committee heard.
Work to replace the long groyne at Hengistbury Head has been given the green light and will help manage the flood risk for 5,800 homes in Bournemouth.
The existing groyne, built in the 1930s and in “poor condition”, is soon to be ripped out and replaced with a new armour stone and pre-cast concrete groyne 150 metres long.
Peter Christie, BCP Council’s FCERM capital projects manager, told a planning committee the “contract is estimated at around £10m for design and construction” for the new groyne.
Funding is from central government and administered through Defra, the Environment Agency, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
BCP Council said without the groyne being replaced, the rate of erosion would “rapidly increase” at Hengistbury Head, resulting in the loss of beach followed by erosion of the cliffs.
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“The long-term loss of land would extend across Purbeck, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and the New Forest, including damage to infrastructure and thousands of properties,” the council adds.
Speaking at the planning committee meeting, Cllr Mike Tarling said: “It has been a very popular place for fishermen to use, whether they’re permitted or not.
“It is almost impossible to stop people swimming up to it and climbing up to it.”
He called for signs to be put up by the council warning people not to climb on the rocks when the groyne is built.
Rocks weighing between six to 10 tonnes will be used as part of the structure and will be able to withstand the waves from the sea.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the project.
Read more: Investigation works on long groyne at Hengistbury Head
Construction will begin in the spring or summer of 2024 and BCP Council say the new groyne would protect the seafront from coastal erosion for 100 years.
Changes to the Solent Beach car park will also be temporarily brought in as construction for the groyne begins.
An office will be located at the car park, with access required from three sites including via Broadway, Hengistbury Head car park through the sand dunes and Solent Beach car park.
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