Yarmouth Harbour new breakwater plans

Laura Hodgetts

A £10million replacement breakwater scheme has been announced for Yarmouth Harbour.

A £10million replacement breakwater scheme has been announced for Yarmouth Harbour.

The existing breakwater, which is constructed with old railway line and sleepers, is nearing the end of its useful life, so a replacement breakwater is required.

Ideally a new breakwater would be 75 metres further north into the Solent than the existing one. It is likely to be of rock armour construction and at least one metre taller than the existing structure to cope with the predicted sea level rise this century.

This announcement is just the beginning of a long process, which involves extensive consultation with a number of government agencies, the local community and the harbour users.

The new breakwater would enable further growth of harbour business, both commercial and leisure. It would also provide better flood protection to the Western Yar Estuary and Yarmouth Town.

A spokesman for Yarmouth Harbour said: ‘This area is highly environmentally designated, and the harbour commissioners understand the challenges in this location.

‘Raising the funds for the breakwater is as big a challenge as the permission and licenses that it requires. The expected cost is in the order of £10million and the commissioners expect that the whole project is likely to take five years.’

 

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