News

As part of the ongoing plan to protect Sandbanks beach and the properties in the area from erosion, lost sand will be replaced this Spring through a joint project between the Borough of Poole, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Poole Harbour Commissioners.

As part of the regular maintenance programme, the Poole Harbour Commissioners dredge the bed of the navigation channels in Poole Harbour every two years. Weather permitting the dredger is due to arrive and start work on 25 February. During the process 144,000 tonnes of sand will be collected and moved directly onto the areas of highest erosion, from the Sandbanks Pavilion to Shore Road. The completion of the project aims to coincide with the Easter holiday in April.

Cllr Bob Williams, Executive Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regeneration, said: "The reclamation of sand from the harbour is an excellent way of recycling in the most natural manner. Some of the sand removed by the sea has no doubt found its way into the harbour and now we can use it again. The sand that might otherwise be lost is now returning home and ensuring, for the short term at least, that Sandbanks is saved for future generations."

For health and safety reasons parts of the beach will be closed at different times whilst the sand is distributed through a pipe and once on the beach bulldozers will push the sand into the relevant spaces. Initially the sand placed on the beach will be darker than usual, as it has not been oxidised or exposed to daylight. Within a few weeks the water and surrounding sand will mix with the harbour sand and there will be no visible difference.

Stuart Terry, Coastal Engineer, Leisure Services, said: "Although this is only a medium term solution it will help sustain the area. The replaced sand that would otherwise be dumped at sea will help to support the work of the groynes in Sandbanks and longer term solutions will be studied later on this year."

The cost of replenishing Sandbanks beach is £400,000 and following an application by the Borough of Poole, DEFRA has agreed to cover the cost complementing the Harbour Commissioner’s work in dredging the harbour. For more information about the work at Sandbanks visit the Council’s website at boroughofpoole.com.  More information on Sandbanks and the geography on it can be studied at the Geography Online site; Sandbanks

In the 1900s concrete walls were built along the back of properties on Banks Road as a secondary defence against sea erosion. The primary defence was the wide beach, however, this has eroded over a number of years and the walls are now under greater pressure as they are now acting as the only defence for these properties.