£6.8m scheme to keep coast near Skegness safe

The Environment Agency’s annual flagship Lincshore scheme involves dredging sand from the seabed and pumping it onto the beach, replacing levels lost to the sea during the winter.

This reduces the risk of waves reaching and overtopping the main sea defences, protecting them from damage and erosion.

Over the next six weeks, beaches Off Trunch Lane, Ingoldmells, Wolla Bank, Chapel Six Marshes, Huttoft, Trusthorpe and Mablethorpe will be replenished.

Mark Robinson, senior coastal advisor at the Environment Agency, said: “The beaches take the brunt of the waves’ energy, which would otherwise impact on coastal defences such as sea walls. Storms and large waves are more frequent during winter months, leading to erosion of the sand from these beaches.

“Replacing the sand helps extend the life of the sea defences – defences that reduce coastal flood risk to more than 30,000 homes and businesses, 19,000 static caravans and 35,000 hectares of land.

“Additionally there’s an amenity value, benefitting and encouraging tourism on the coast, as otherwise there would be very little sand on our beaches.”

Mark added: “We time our works to minimise disruption to local communities and visitors, but unfortunately we will need to close off sections of beach while we’re working on them to keep people safe. We appreciate residents’ ongoing patience if there’s minor disruption.”

This year, around 350,000m3 of sand will be dredged from designated areas 20km offshore. The dredger used will be the HAM316, which carries about 10,000 tonnes of sand at a time. Additionally, the equipment used to move sand on the beach has the lowest carbon footprint of its class.

Lincshore first began in 1994 and covers 20km of beach frontage between Skegness and Mablethorpe.

The Environment Agency is currently reviewing how coastal flood risk will continue to be managed in the future and will be seeking the views of local communities, businesses and partners to help shape this.

While Lincshore helps maintain an excellent standard of protection from flooding, those living and working in coastal communities should take steps to ensure they know what to do in an emergency – such as knowing your risk, making a plan, and signing up for our free flood warnings. To find out more, call 0345 988 1188.