Bournemouth groyne wood repurposed into sea wall protection

Three groynes at East Cliff were removed and replaced this winter

Wood from three groynes that were replaced during recent works have been repurposed into protecting a sea wall on a different part of the coast.

The groynes on Bournemouth's beaches have to be replaced every 25 years.

Some of the wood removed this year has been taken to Ventnor on the Isle of Wight to become part of a new sea defence.

The sea wall collapsed in 2022 leaving the promenade closed whilst works to fix it have been ongoing.

Matt Hosey, head of flood and coastal erosion risk management at Bournemouth council, said it was vital work

Over the winter, three groynes at East Cliff were removed and replaced as part of the Environment Agency's £33m Poole Bay Beach Management scheme - which aims to renew the costal defences over 17 years.

The tropical hardwood is extremely durable, meaning it could be reused in Ventnor for the next 10 years - before a longer-term sea wall is constructed.

Matt Hosey, head of flood and coastal erosion risk management at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, said: "If we can see it reused, and especially on another coast protection scheme, then that's a priority."

Rupert Teasdale, project manager for the Ventnor coastal scheme, said the work was "really a tribute to a joined up approach from local authorities".

The promenade in Ventnor is expected to reopen this summer

Paul Nutter, contract manager for JT Mackley which is carrying out the work, said: "Although they reached the end of their life at Bournemouth, they're perfectly suitable for the solution at Ventnor."

It has been estimated that without the groynes on Bournemouth beaches, which have been preventing cliff erosion since the 1970s, more than 6,000 properties would be at risk over the next century.

The promenade in Ventnor is expected to reopen this summer.

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