Canterbury City Council engineers have successfully bid for £2.8 million of Environment Agency Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) to replace ageing sea defences in Herne Bay. The works consist of replacing 12 groynes outside the King’s Hall and 11 at Lane End, adding a small section of rock protection between the King’s Hall pumping station and Herne Bay Sailing Club, seawall and promenade repairs, handrail refurbishment and beach recycling.
The contract was successfully tendered and won by the experienced coastal civil engineering contractor J.T. Mackley & Co Ltd. The works started on site in September 2018 and are projected to finish in Spring 2019.
The timber for the groynes, Greenheart, is Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) approved and sourced from Guyana where it is native. Greenheart is one of the strongest commercially available timbers and is ideally suited for marine construction where resistance to marine borers, strength and long life is required. This scheme was so important to the Guyanese economy that a delegation from the Guyana Ministry of Natural Resources, the Guyanese Forestry Commission and a timber supplier visited the works in November 2018.