Every summer throngs of holidaymakers flock to the sandy beach at Swanage. As well as being the coastal town’s main tourist attraction, the beach provides protection from battering waves, swell and high tides. Over the past 20 years, however, the beach levels have steadily fallen as the existing timber groynes deteriorated.
Purbeck District Council commissioned Halcrow to assess the scope for combating coastal erosion, including an economic appraisal of the available options and a summary report. Our findings supported the business case for funding from the UK government’s Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), with the detailed design and procurement of the recharge scheme following this successful application.
Over the winter of 2005-6 Halcrow supervised and administered the construction of 17 new timber groynes and the spreading of 90,000m³ of replacement sand. The sand used to replenish the beach is a by-product of dredging activity in the Poole Harbour navigation channel, representing a sustainable source.
Completed on time and to budget, the Swanage beach recharge scheme opened to the public in July 2006, ensuring that the beach once again provides a robust level of coastal protection and a source of great enjoyment for locals and visitors alike.
Halcrow provided design services through the following stages:
- data collection and analysis including topographic, bathymetric and defence condition surveys
- computer modelling to understand the sediment transport processes, pathways and sinks within the bay and to develop a coastal defence scheme capable of withstanding the design storm conditions
- environmental impact assessment
- scheme options assessment with respect to technical, environmental and economic criteria
- detailed design and procurement
- construction supervision and contract administration