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The North Portsea Island Scheme covers a total of 8.4 km of coastline from Tipner through to Milton and is being delivered in 5 phases. Phase 4 at Eastern Road commenced in autumn 2020, covers 2.4 km of seafront, from Kendall's Wharf to Milton Common and is currently planned to be completed end of 2023. |
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'tis the season to be quiet…
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The last few sections of continuous full-height flood defence wall are completed and we are now gearing up for the winter break.
We do not work over the winter months as there are large numbers of several bird species that migrate through and overwinter in the Solent, which are protected by a series of designated sites, including Langstone Harbour.
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Whilst pausing all work close to the sea, some landscaping work will still be conducted. |
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We keep going…
Our construction year 2022 saw many challenges: delays in material, heat waves and ongoing COVID-19 absences to name a few. However, the team kept calm and carried on and substantial progress was made.
In 2022 we successfully
- Conducted all piling work along the coast from north of Harbourside Park to all the way south of the Harvester, to (currently closed) Langstone Harbour viewing car park (at Tangier Road) - which is a total of 730m of steel sheet pile wall.
- Constructed a total of 540m of full height concrete flood defence wall with our special Ecoformliner mould, using 5,700 tonnes of concrete.
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- Installed the third and final area of 310m of glass flood wall at Harbourside Park. To install the glass, individual glass sections weighing up to 350kg each are slotted in between two upright aluminium posts attached to the concrete wall. |
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- Started on the groundwork for the first social spot, situated between the Tudor Sailing Club and the Andrew Simpson Watersport Centre. For this we reused slabs that were removed as part of the Southsea Coastal Scheme. It features a special compass design and is located next to one of the glass flood wall areas, so visitors will be able to enjoy unobstructed views over Langstone Harbour whilst taking a break. |
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The coastal path between Great Salterns Quay and the Andrew Simpson Centre car park and along the coast will remain closed, however a diversion is in place (see map)
The coastal path south of the work area will remain open for the break, up to the pedestrian crossing towards Tangier Road. All other diversions will remain in place until construction is finished.
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Plans for 2023
Next year will see the construction of the remaining 800 m of wall (approx.), tying in with the finished sea defence at Milton Common.
Once all construction is finished, we will start to focus on the social spots, seating, way finders and the installation of the many environmental enhancements that are planned: a new offshore high tide roost site (bird island), tidal pools within the seawall base and bee posts along the path, as well as more wildflowers and trees to enhance the area for all.
Our digital monthly progress updates will also pause over winter, but we will be back to report on progress in Spring 2023 - we look forward to seeing you then!
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