Repairs to damaged sea wall along four sections of the coastal path from Portsmouth’s Mountbatten Centre to the Lido will get underway on 19 April to ensure the area is fully operational in time for summer.
The works are being undertaken as part of Phase 3 (Tipner Lake) of Portsmouth City Council’s North Portsea Island Coastal Defence Scheme and are expected to be complete by early June.
Contractors responsible for installing the walls in 2019 are providing the repairs at no cost to Portsmouth City Council.
Project manager for the Scheme, Caroline Timlett said:
“Damage to the sea wall is superficial and is only on the surface of the concrete, meaning the structural integrity has not been affected.
“It was caused by a small rubber strip that sits between the wall joints being too close to the wall’s surface in certain places, resulting in cracking of the concrete.
“The project team has worked hard to come up with a solution to repair the damaged joints, as well as identifying any remaining joints that may be prone to the same problem in the future.
“To that end, the wall design has now been altered to ensure it doesn’t occur on Phase 4 which runs between Kendall’s Wharf and Eastern Road.”
From 19 April, individual sections of the coastal path will be closed one at a time until works are complete.
A cycle diversion will be in place down Northern Parade, which will allow cyclists to rejoin the coastal path via Matapan Road. Cyclists also have the option to dismount and take the localised pedestrian diversions, which will be clearly signposted.
Access to Hilsea Lido, Blue Lagoon, South Coast Wakepark and children’s playground will not be affected.
Caroline added: “We’re conscious of the popularity of the path, so works were carefully scheduled to start after the Easter break and end before the summer holidays.
“Any footpath closures while repairs are underway will cause minimal disruption to the public and local diversions will be put in place where possible.”
The Scheme is being delivered on behalf of Portsmouth City Council and is funded by the Environment Agency. Phase 4 commenced in April 2021 and will involve construction of the Eastern Road sea wall.
In its entirety, the Scheme will cover 8.4km of coastline from Tipner through to Milton. It will protect more than 4,500 homes and businesses on Portsea Island from the risk of coastal flooding, and is scheduled to run until 2025.
