Sea defence: Million tonne Rhos on Sea sand move starts

The sand is being dredged from the sea bed

Work is under way to build a new beach to strengthen sea defences by moving a million tonnes of sand.

The £14m project in Rhos on Sea, Conwy county, has involved building a big pipe to shift the sand from the sea to an existing sea wall.

"We have some huge pieces of kit," said project manager Benji Poulton. "There's a giant dredger and it will go out to sea to a licensed dredge site."

The beach is expected to be completed over the next three and a half weeks.

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The vessel will suck up the sand from the seabed and be taken to the pipe, where it will be mixed with water and pumped to the beach site.

"The reason we are bringing it in from the sea is because the large volumes are so huge.

"If we were to bring a million tonnes in via road, it would be about 50,000 lorries full," added Mr Poulton.

He added that the new beach will help protect the existing sea wall.

Roads above and below the Cayley Embankment would become one way, under the £14m plans

"The shallow slope of the sand allows the energy of the waves to break up more gradually and they won't reach the sea wall with as much strength," said Mr Poulton.

The £14m plans also involve creating a new rock barrier to stop the sand drifting across the beach. The town's West Promenade will also be widened for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as play areas, and gardens.

Conwy council has said the work will take a year.

Further public consultations will be held over the road layouts and traffic flow plans before a final a decision is made, the council has confirmed.

Sand will be deposited along the sea wall to help prevent flooding

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