Van Oord Starts Coastal Protection Work in Kent

Rocks are being delivered as work starts on the £30m scheme to protect 1,400 properties at Broomhill Sands Coastal Defense Scheme in Kent.

The Environment Agency has appointed Team Van Oord to construct the scheme, which will cover 2.4km of beach from the Suttons, Camber to the western boundary of Lydd Ranges and will include:

• a new 1.7km rock defense and tidal wave wall;
• increasing the amount of shingle along 700 meters of the beach;
• the replacement of a number of the existing timber groynes with eight new 54m groynes to stabilize the beach and retain beach material;
• widened and improved access along the tops of the sea defenses;

The rock for the new defense will be imported from Norway and will be delivered by barge.

The works are scheduled for completion in December 2015 and will improve the flood protection to more than 1,300 homes and 100 businesses by increasing the standard of protection to the area from 1 in 20 years to 1 in 200 years. The scheme will also protect vital infrastructure in the area including the main coastal road and sewage treatment works.

The scheme is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

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Press Release, August 27, 2014