Deal sea defence scheme
Updated 28 April 2016
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The Environment Agency is building a coastal defence scheme to reduce the risk of flooding from the sea to homes and businesses in and around the Kent town of Deal.
Before the scheme, some areas of Deal had a 1 in 20 (5%) chance of tidal flooding in any given year. The new flood defences will reduce this risk to 1 in 300, for 1,418 homes and 148 commercial properties in Deal.
The scheme will also protect:
- the Thanet coast and Sandwich Bay special protection area and Ramsar site
- the Sandwich Bay special area of conservation
- the railway line between Ramsgate and Dover
- scheduled monuments and listed buildings in north Deal
Construction of the scheme began in September 2012. Building the scheme will cost £10 million.
March 2014 update
The weakest point in the defence had been the rock revetment at Sandown Castle. The Environment Agency replaced the existing rock with 21,000 tonnes of Norwegian rock, completing this part of the work 3 weeks ahead of schedule. This has reduced the risk of a breach, significantly reducing flood risk to most of Deal. This part of the scheme now provides a 1 in 300 year standard of protection.
Deal also has a new 410 metre wave wall, which is designed to reduce the wave energy and direct the waves back into the sea. It also reduces the amount of shingle that is thrown up onto the road. The overlapping design reduces the power of the waves while still maintaining public access to the promenade.
The completed elements of the scheme performed well throughout the coastal storms of 2013 and 2014.
Work on the beach
The Environment Agency has monitored the beach throughout the sea defence works at Deal. They have found that the beach placed in 2012 contained more sandy material than required. The contractor returned to Deal in autumn 2012 to correct the mix of shingle on the beach.
This work involves using 2 sieving machines to sieve the existing beach material and bring new shingle to the beach. A mobile laboratory is on site to test all materials as the work is carried out.
The Environment Agency will not accept the beach back until it is right and they are monitoring the works closely to ensure the corrected area is to the designed standard.
As each section of the beach is completed to the required standard, it will be opened to the public. The Environment Agency will continue to work with the contractor to reduce the disruption to local residents and ensure the beach work is completed as soon as possible.
Work is expected to be completed by the end of May 2014.
Contact
For more information about the Deal scheme, contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 (see call charges) or email KSLenquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.