Blackpool threatened by Beach Erosion causing Major upgrades to be proposed

Changes in environmental factors on beaches between North and South Pier have created channels, causing fears for the undermining of the stepped sea defences

A new preliminary report submitted by consultants Jacobs has set out a baseline for work that is needed to help safeguard Blackpool's main tourist beaches from the risk of coastal erosion.

The Beaches, between North and South Pier, have undergone environmental changes, leading to the creation of channels which are in danger of causing an undermining of the stepped sea defences, the proposal by experts is to build 16 rocky headlands, also known as 'Groynes' on a 3km portion of the beach to help retain sand.

The Report, as part of the Blackpool Beach Management Outline Business Case, lodged documents with town hall planners to say that the current sea defences, that had been completed in 2011, are still in good condition

• Sea Defences require further construction due to erosion (Credit: Unknown)

They identified that "dynamic" changes to the beach and "the recently identified long term trend in beach lowering" have led to inter-tidal channels to be formed, causing the lowest point, known as 'toes', of the current sea defences to become exposed. The warnings in the report that this "has the potential to result in undermining and failure of the defences" leading to a potential of putting properties at risk of coastal erosion.

The proposal put forward is to build 16 fishtail rock headlands, or groynes, each of them 100 metres in length, spaced at 100 metre intervals on the upper beach, with the hope that it will disperse some incoming waves and prevent further erosion, this would hopefully "reduce the recently identified long term trend of beach lowering."

Further suggestions include a proposal for 10,000 cubic metres of sand be deposited on the upper beach, in the bays between the rock headlands, every 10 years after the completion of the project to help offset any potential losses of sand, for example during an extreme storm.

Initial studies looking at the scheme have shown that their is unlikely to be an adverse affect on any natural habitats due to the area not attractive diverse wildlife because of its urban location within a busy tourist area but the construction will still need planning permission and a Marine Licence.

The Project, if it went forward, could however lead to access to parts of the beach needing to be temporarily restricted during the improvements. 

Work is due to begin in September 2025 with a completion date of September 2027

It would be carried out following work completion being done to upgrade the existing coastal defences in Bispham, including a 1.5km stretch between Princes Way at Little Bispham and Red Bank Road, and 1.3 km from Gynn Square to Cocker Square.

The investment is being done in a bid to protect around 4,000 properties from the threat of flooding, as the existing defences are said to have reached the end of their life despite regular maintenance being carried out.