Source: City of Portsmouth
Southsea’s beach between the Pyramids and the Coffee Cup café in Eastney will be rebuilt this winter when more than one million tonnes of shingle is imported by dredger between October 2025 and March 2026.
The significant increase will see the beach double in size when shingle is dredged locally from the Solent near the Isle of Wight and deposited onto the beach by a pipeline from the dredger.
Similar work was undertaken on a smaller scale earlier this year during beach import work along the beach in front of Southsea Common.
Southsea Coastal Scheme Project Executive Marc Bryan said:
“We’ve chosen to build a larger shingle beach in this area because they’re great at absorbing wave energy which in turn helps reduce erosion and protects homes and businesses from coastal flooding.
“The new beach will adapt to rising seas and our changing climate while still providing the required standard of protection.
“It will be easily maintained and can be topped up if needed in the future.”
Initial works will start in October 2025 with the installation of a new outfall extension from Canoe Lake.
From November 2025, a one metre diameter pipeline will be laid across the beach to the west of South Parade Pier to discharge the new shingle.
During the shingle discharging, access to the beach will be limited for safety reasons with some stepped access over the pipeline available.