Dropped kerbs installed in spots along Southsea seafront for sea defence work to continue

The changes have been made to the pavement along Clarence Esplanade in two spots to provide access to the working sites for construction vehicles.

One has been put in near the Blue Reef Aquarium and the other in front of Castle Field.

It comes as the promenade between the aquarium and the Pyramids Centre closed last week for construction of the second phase of the Southsea Coastal Scheme, which is expected to be completed in early 2024.

Guy Mason, Southsea Coastal Scheme project director, said: ‘In accordance with our planning permission and recent communications, we have now fenced off an area of promenade for our Southsea Castle flood defence works to include areas for site storage.

‘While we understand this closure along the seafront may cause some inconvenience, it has been done in order to leave Southsea Common completely open to the public.

‘We have provided advice on periods of intensive works and the promenade closure to groups ranging from major events organisers to people holding their weddings at Southsea Castle.

‘In addition, we delayed taking possession of the site so people could continue to enjoy the promenade over Christmas and New Year.

‘I want to assure people that we will do our utmost to ensure minimum disturbance during this essential work, but please be aware that the schedule of operations is dependent on tide times so some night activity is inevitable.’

SEE ALSO: Behind the scenes on the first stage of the £100m Southsea sea defence scheme

Fencing has been erected around the work area as the site is prepared in readiness for rock work and demolition of the existing sea defences.

This latest stage of the scheme - known as frontage four - has been designed to take the unique heritage of the area around Southsea Castle into consideration. The first stage of the works to begin was frontage one – between Long Curtain Moat and Clarence Pier.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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