Mackley wraps up Eastbourne work

The project, carried out by Mackley on behalf of Eastbourne Borough Council, was split into two phases and took approximately 6-7 weeks to complete.

The first phase involved re-charging the beach with 11,500m³ of new shingle, delivered to the site by a dredger.

The new shingle arrived from a licensed area of the Owers Bank near the Isle of Wight where it was sucked from the sea bed by the dredger ‘Sospan Dau’, taken back to Eastbourne and delivered to the beach over high tide.

The dredger came very close to the beach and discharged a mixture of sediment and water using a technique known as ‘rainbowing’ that creates a mound of material high on the foreshore.

Discharge took about an hour and a half and the vessel will return to the dredge area for the next load with the intention of being back on the beach for the next high tide.

Phase two of the scheme involved recycling an existing 19,500m³ of shingle from overfull beaches between the Wish Tower and Bandstand – and lasted 5-6 weeks.