The Future of Portsmouth’s Coast

 by Owen McGovern

Vital to shaping the future of the city of Portsmouth, the Southsea Coastal Scheme is the largest council-led coastal defences project in the UK. It is currently worth over £100m, thanks to investment from the UK government and Portsmouth City Council. The project aims to rejuvenate the area around the seafront of Southsea, particularly the coastal defences, which have gone without support for a number of years. This will breathe new life into the area, which stretches 4.5km from Old Portsmouth to Eastney, by building new infrastructure and improving on what currently exists. 

A key element of the project is the coastal defences, as the current defences will be obsolete within the next decade, while as of now 704 businesses and 8,077 homes are at risk from flooding, figures which will only increase as the current sea defences decline and the effects of climate change become even more significant. Some of this work has already been completed, with the Long Curtain Moat in the process of being repaired using granite and limestone. When completed, the new coastal defences will reduce the risk of a major flood occurring for the next century, and will include rock armour, seawalls and revetments. 

The Southsea Coastal Scheme will have existed for over a decade when it is expected to be completed in 2026. In 2014, public consultation about the possibility of a coastal regeneration project began, and after approval from the council the design phase began in 2017, costing £6.5 million. Having developed into the construction phase, the scheme has outlined plans for six different phases where each will remodel a different area, including Canoe Lake, Clarence Pier, Southsea Castle and the Common. 

These plans will be carried out by an ‘Integrated Delivery Team’ which is made up of experts from various fields, such as landscaping, marine civil engineering, dredging and land reclamation. This ensures that the project will be expertly advised and carried out throughout its lifespan. The scheme is also environmentally conscious, having received funding from the Environment Agency and having been designed by experts in green infrastructure. At a cost of £4.5 million to maintain the project’s achievements for the next 100 years, the Southsea Coastal Scheme will be built to provide a lasting impact on the city of Portsmouth.