Hill Head to Portsmouth Harbor Beach Management Plan

The Eastern Solent Coastal Partnership (ESCP) has announced that it is working on a Hill Head to Portsmouth Harbor Entrance Beach Management Plan (BMP) Study.

The River Hamble to Portchester Strategy identified a 10km stretch of coastline in Fareham and Gosport as a key area for beach management.

The ESCP has successfully applied to the Environment Agency for funding to develop this Beach Management Plan (BMP) which will build on the Strategy.

According to ESCP, the BMP extends from Hill Head to the western tip of Portsmouth Harbor Entrance and includes Lee-on-the-Solent beach, which underwent works in 1997 (rock groynes and beach nourishment), and other key areas such as Hill Head and Stokes Bay, which have had smaller interventions in response to erosion issues.

However, sustainable beach management benefits from a broader and more strategic approach and the ESCP is now developing a BMP study to reduce erosion and flood risk, and maintain the recreational benefits that the beach offers, reported the partnership.

ESCP also added that a key element of this is to analyse the coastal processes over the BMP frontage and wider area, informed by 14 years of survey data.

Full environmental consideration will be given when making recommendations for future operational phases of the BMP.