Town's £29m flood defence scheme approved

West Quay Road in Poole was severely flooded in 2008

A £29.4m scheme to protect a town centre from coastal flooding has been approved by a council.

Floodgates, walls and ground-raising are planned along a 1.5km (one mile) stretch of Holes Bay at Poole, Dorset.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said the scheme would provide "robust protection until at least 2071, with future upgrades to follow".

The money will come from central government and developers.

Work is planned along Holes Bay Road, which was built on reclaimed marshland

Thousands of properties are at risk from tidal flooding due to climate change and sea level rise over the next 100 years, the council said.

The defences are designed to withstand a one in 200-year flooding event.

Councillor Andy Hadley, in charge of climate response, said: "This scheme... will complete important flood defences for Poole Old Town.

"Once constructed, it will unlock the regeneration potential of Poole's West Quays which has been a long-term ambition of the council."

The project includes defences alongside Holes Bay Road, which opened in 1988 on reclaimed marshland.

Construction will start in August for five months to raise the adjoining coastal path from near Sterte Avenue West to Lifeboat Quay.

Work will also be carried out to install sheet piling at the quay and between Whittles Way and Poole Bridge.

Without the scheme, flood damage could cost more than £161m over the next century, according to South West Flood & Coastal.

The group, a partnership between BCP Council and East Devon District Council, said the project would complete Poole's flood defences, after work began in 2018.