Work got underway on the Southern Felixstowe sea defences in March
2008 after the Environment Agency gave the green light for the £10m
project that had been drawn up with Suffolk Coastal.
A series of 21 rock fishtail groynes were constructed and the
beach between the War Memorial and Landguard Common 'recharged' by
adding extra shingle to the existing beach to raise the level.
The defences provide protection for more than 1,600 existing
homes and businesses, the Port of Felixstowe and several
environmentally important sites as well as a new sandy shore to
entice more visitors.
The partnership scheme between Suffolk Coastal and the Environment
Agency was originally scheduled for 2006 but was shelved when the
Government announced in December 2005 that there would be no
funding for any new coastal protection projects anywhere in Britain
in 2006/07.
The Council had to carry out a series of emergency projects to
give basic temporary protection to the sea wall and promenade
involving placing hundreds of tonnes of rocks against the
promenade. These were moved and used as part of the groynes in
the permanent scheme.
A ceremony to mark the completion of the scheme took place on 1
October 2008.
The construction contract was carried out by Team Van
Oord, a joint venture of Van Oord UK Ltd, Mackley Construction and
May Gurney.
You can find out more about the scheme and progress of the works
in the project newsletters:
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