A beach management project worth £43.7million which would provide protection for Bournemouth’s coastline over the next 100 years has been approved by the Conservative Cabinet in Bournemouth Council today.

The Bournemouth Beach Management Study sets out a 17-year plan of beach replenishment and groyne renewal. Bournemouth’s beaches will be subject to regular replenishment with approximately 210,000m3 of replenishment materials added every three years to keep the beach topped up at its target volume.  A groyne renewal programme will also be undertaken as part of the project to improve performance, protect the seawall and prevent the loss of beach material.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment, said: “Without intervention Bournemouth could face the loss of more than 3,000 homes to coastal erosion as well as drastic changes to the appearance of the coastline and the local environment, with a subsequent impact on our tourism economy.”

Bournemouth is built on a coastline which is currently eroding at approximately 1 metre per year. Seawalls and groynes have been built for over 100 years to protect the cliff and cliff-top properties and beach replenishment has been used as a form of coast protection for 45 years.

The seafront is the town’s most valuable asset and underpins a tourism economy worth £472.8m per year, attracting 7,091,000 visitors annually and sustaining 11,604 jobs.

The Council adopted the Seafront Strategy in October 2013 which set out a vision to establish Bournemouth as a World Class Seafront. The Strategy celebrates the unique beauty and character of the natural environment with a range of creative and inspiring projects designed to deliver economic growth. This enables the Council to plan infrastructure renewal and attract long term investment across all seven miles of seafront.