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News

Second Phase of Beach Replenishment Begins

The Borough of Poole is working in partnership with Bournemouth Borough Council in the second phase of the beach replenishment project, seeing 700,000 cubic metres of sand being used to replenish Bournemouth's beaches to protect them from erosion.

This is the latest stage of 'Poole Bay Project' , which will sees the replenishing work continue between Boscombe and the borough boundary with Poole.

Cllr Don Collier, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Economy, Borough of Poole, said:
"This is essential work and we are pleased to work with Bournemouth Borough Council to improve all our beaches and make them more robust against the natural elements. The most important thing is that there is as little disruption as possible for those who want to use the beaches and we will be creating small sand bridges during the fabrication to allow public access to the shoreline."

Poole beaches will provide the location for fabricating and welding the 1200m sinkerline, which is the pipe that connects the dredging to the beach enabling the sand to be  pumped onto the beach.

Poole's beaches have been selected as the ideal location for the sinkerline due to their wide, flat landscape, with the old groynes buried below the sand. Bournemouth's beaches would not have been suitable due to the high level timber groynes that interrupt the beach landscape.

Last winter more than one million cubic metres of beach material was dredged from Poole Harbour channels and approaches and used to replenish the beaches in Poole Bay and Swanage. Half that amount was pumped on Bournemouth beach between Hengistbury Head and Southbourne, however there was insufficient material to replenish beaches further west, hence the continuation of this project.

Stuart Terry, Coastal Works Manager for Leisure Services, Borough of Poole, said:
"Pumping onto the beach will be every ten hours, whereas last winter it was every two hours. This is due to a much larger dredger being employed and the distance from the Isle of Wight where the sand is being sourced."

Replenishment work will be carried out by the Westminster Dredging Company, and the dredger Oranje.

Lisa Gaskell, Communications, Borough of Poole on tel 01202 633060