£6.8m Lincolnshire coastal flood prevention scheme gets underway

The Environment Agency’s annual scheme to replenish beaches in Lincolnshire is set to begin.

The initiative involves dredging sand from the seabed and pumping it onto the beach, replacing levels lost to the sea during the winter. The move acts to reduce the risk of waves reaching and overtopping the main sea defences, protecting them from damage and erosion.

The £6.8 million project will start on Monday, 24 April at Boygrift. Over the next six weeks, beaches at Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe, Ingoldmells, Trunch Lane, Wolla Bank, Chapel Six Marshes and Huttoft will be replenished.

Mark Robinson, senior coastal advisor at the Environment Agency, explained: “The beaches take the brunt of the waves’ energy, which would otherwise impact on coastal defences such as sea walls. Storms and large waves are more frequent during winter months, leading to erosion of the sand from these beaches.

”Replacing the sand helps extend the life of the sea defences – defences that reduce coastal flood risk to more than 30,000 homes and businesses, 19,000 static caravans and 35,000 hectares of land.

“Additionally there’s an amenity value, benefitting and encouraging tourism on the coast, as otherwise there would be very little sand on our beaches.

“We time our works to minimise disruption to local communities and visitors, but unfortunately we will need to close off sections of beach while we’re working on them to keep people safe.

“This work is important to maintain coastal flood defences, so we appreciate residents’ ongoing patience if there’s minor disruption.”