The New Forest District Council is bolstering coastal defences at Milford on Sea with rocks, groynes repair and increased shingle.

The council will install 1,100 tonnes of rock as part of the initial drive to reduce wave energy and allow shingle to settle.

Several timber groynes will also be restored.

The work, on Hurst Road, starts from August 27, and the rock delivery is due at the start of September.

The second phase of the project, scheduled for October, will see two thousand and five hundred tonnes of shingle delivered via trucks to fortify beach levels further and enhance the seawall's protection as winter approaches

Cllr Geoffrey Blunden, portfolio holder for environment and sustainability, said: "This coastal frontage has in recent years experienced a continued increase in winter storms, with the winter of 2023/24 seeing a record number of storms impacting on our vulnerable coastline. This has resulted in the continued lowering of beach levels, reducing the level of protection to coastal defences and assets.  

"This piece of maintenance work is vitally important to provide protection to an aging seawall and supports the Shoreline Management Policy of ‘hold the line’. This maintenance work is also in line with the Christchurch Bay and Harbour FCERM Strategy that is currently going through the Council to be adopted."

.