Team Van Oord is to begin work on the Broomhill Sands Coastal Defence Scheme in Kent.

Appointed by the Environment Agency, the firm will cover 2.4km of beach from The Suttons, Camber to the western boundary of Lydd Ranges and will include:

• a new 1.7km rock revetment and tidal wave wall

• increasing the amount of shingle along 700 metres of the beach

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• the replacement of a number of the existing timber groynes with eight new 54m groynes to stabilise the beach and retain beach material

• widened and improved access along the tops of the sea defences.

The rock for the new revetment will be imported from Norway and will be delivered by barge.

The works are scheduled for completion in December 2015 and will improve the flood protection to more than 1,300 homes and 100 businesses by increasing the standard of protection to the area from 1 in 20 years to 1 in 200 years. The scheme will also protect vital infrastructure in the area including the main coastal road and sewage treatment works.

(CD/JP)