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£1.9m scheme for Poole beaches
A £1.9m project has got underway at Poole, Dorset, to protect a major stretch of the town's beaches from the effects of coastal erosion.
The scheme is part of Poole's Coast Protection Plan, and is being supported by both the Environment Agency and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. New rock groynes, constructed from Portland limestone, will be created in order to protect and preserve the sand beach between Branksome Chine and Branksome Dene Chine.
A similar project has already taken place at Sandbanks in 1995 and 2001, while a sand replenishment programme between Shore Road and Branksome Dene Chine was carried out in 2005 and 2006. Dean and Dyball has been appointed by the Borough of Poole Council (BPC) to construct the groynes, although access to the promenade will remain open during the project. However, the beach between Branksome Chine and Branksome Dene Chine will be closed off.
Head of leisure services at the Borough of Poole Council, Clive Smith, said: "The rock groynes at Sandbanks has proved successful in retaining the sand, and Poole's innovative walkway design also allows access out to sea which many people enjoy. "Without the groynes, sand levels would continue to wash away until there was no dry beach left in front of the promenade, and ultimately, it would collapse from constant wave action."