Improving Sea Defenses at Alverstoke, Seafield and Forton

Gosport Borough Council will host several meetings in the following weeks to outline the next stage of their coastal schemes, aimed to protect the borough from coastal flooding.

The council is planning to improve sea defenses at three sites: Alverstoke, Seafield and Forton. Once built, the three projects would reduce tidal flood risk to more than 500 Gosport homes until 2070.

Exhibitions on the Alverstoke plans are taking place at Jubilee Lodge Scout Hut, Park Road, Gosport on Wednesday 11 September, 11am–4pm and Thursday 12 September, 1pm–7pm.

Meetings on the Forton scheme will be held at Earl Mountbatten Hall, St Luke’s Road, Gosport on Tuesday 17 September, 11am-4pm, and Wednesday 18 September, 1pm–7pm.

Piers Bateman, the borough councilor responsible for protection of Gosport’s coastline, said: “These events give residents a great opportunity to find out more about these proposed new defenses, which are vital to protect Gosport from flooding. I’d urge people to go along and learn more about what we’re planning.”

The proposed Alverstoke scheme covers about 100m of coast at the western end of Stoke Lake (between Little Anglesey Road and Clayhall Road) and the proposed Forton scheme involves about 200m of coast at the western end of Forton Lake.

The Seafield plan includes about 770m of coast between Old Road and Mariners Way. The leading options are to upgrade or encase the existing walls and construct a new wall, or to upgrade or replace the existing sloping defense structure and construct a new wall.

The schemes have been designed to provide flood protection against a storm that has a likelihood of occurring once in every 100 years.