Works on the latest phase of a scheme, which will reduce the risk of coastal flooding for more than 4,500 homes and businesses on Portsea Island, continue to progress – with a new raised access road set to open.
The £58m North Portsea Island Coastal Defence Scheme, which is being delivered by the Eastern Solent Coastal Partnership on behalf of Portsmouth City Council, is being completed in five phases.
Mackley was selected from a shortlist of four experienced contractors to carry out the fourth phase of the scheme – which has been split into two sections, near Kendall’s Wharf and at Eastern Road.
The works comprise the installation of a 2km sea defence wall, the construction of an embankment and raising the access road.
The team is preparing to reopen the footpath adjacent to Kendall’s Wharf in the autumn. A new surface is in progress and next month work will begin to landscape the area.
Meanwhile, the new raised access road to Kendall’s Wharf is nearly finished and is expected to be fully open September 2020.
During autumn and winter (September to March), work will be restricted due to the local ecology, in particular overwintering birds. From September, the site will be less busy but works will continue on the landscaping, planting and reinstatement.
Work on the flood defence scheme will resume fully in March 2021.
Mackley enjoying return to Portsea
Portsea Island is a small, low-lying island which contains a large proportion of the city of Portsmouth. It is the third largest (by population) of any island in the British Isles after the mainlands of Great Britain and Ireland, and has the highest population density.
Mackley previously worked on Portsea Island to deliver the first phase of coastal defences at Anchorage Park in 2015, which enhanced protection to the area and vastly improved public areas through effective landscaping.
The £6m Anchorage Park scheme involved the construction of 1.4km of coastal defences along the north of the island between Ports Creek Railway Bridge and Kendall’s Wharf. The works have reduced the risk of coastal flooding and erosion to the area over the next 100 years.
09 September 2020
