Work on sea defences in north of Portsmouth to begin

Work on an earth embankment and wall will start at Kendall's Wharf and Eastern Road as part of the North Portsea Island Scheme this month.

The access road to the wharf will also be raised, with work expected to finish by spring 2020.

Guy Mason, coastal defences manager at Portsmouth City Council, said: 'This is an exciting next step for the North Portsea Island flood defence scheme, commencing the fourth out of five phases.

'We were delighted about the positive response to the recently completed and reopened landscaping as part of the scheme around Tipner Lake, and we will continue to focus on improving public spaces with this next phase.'

Two temporary roads will be built before work starts on the embankment and wall and there will be a diversion in place for the coastal path to keep the public away from the building work.

Access to the sailing club and watersports centre will be maintained using one of the temporary roads and businesses will be open as usual.

No road closures are planned for Eastern Road.

The work will tie in with the defences already built at Anchorage Park to the North and Milton Common to the South. The previous phase at Tipner Lake has just been completed and reopened to the public.

Mackley Construction Ltd was chosen for the project in September.

Contracts manager at Mackley, Rob Pearson, said: 'Planning permission has been granted for the first section of the project – and Mackley’s award-winning team is ready to get the works under way in the coming weeks.'

A planning application for the second stage of the work at Eastern Road was submitted in September 2019.

During the second stage of the works public space and paths along the coast will be improved and any areas cleared of vegetation will be replanted with a range of specially chosen species including a mixture of grasses, trees, shrub and species rich meadow.

The new plants will be more visually and ecologically diverse than what was there previously, creating a better habitat for local wildlife. The second stage is expected to begin in April 2020.