Deal Dredging Set to Begin (UK)

The Environment Agency is hosting a public drop-in session in Deal to update the community on the town’s new Sea Defence Scheme, with new work due to begin in the next few weeks.

Earlier in the year the Environment Agency announced that further work would be required to ensure the beach at Deal reached the standard set out in the original plans.

The new works will involve sieving the previously delivered beach material to remove excess sand. Two sieving machines will move along the beach between central Deal and Sandown Castle while a small dredger delivers new shingle by dramatically casting it onto the beach.

The new works are due to begin this week, and a mobile laboratory will be on site throughout the work testing all materials as the works are carried out to ensure that the newly delivered material is of the correct size.

Local residents and interested groups will have the chance to find out more and talk to the Environment

Agency at the drop-in session, which will be held on Deal promenade Saturday 28 September between 10.00am until 3pm.

Members of the project team will be on hand to discuss the latest news with members of the public, and explain what to expect when the work starts again.

Andrew Pearce, Environment Agency Area Manager, said: “This is an important final step for the Deal scheme so we would like to make the local community aware of what to expect, and get feedback on how they feel the scheme has progressed.

“Whilst they are essential, the works may cause similar disruption to what was caused last year at the start of the project, but this time we will only close half the beach at any one time. The work may be noisy, so will only be carried out between 8am and 6pm and our staff will be on site throughout the work to do all we can to help keep any disruption to a minimum. This final stage of the project will ensure that Deal will soon benefit from the significantly improved flood protection that the scheme will provide.”

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Press Release, September 19, 2013