The Environment Agency has started work on its £5 million annual flagship Lincshore scheme which sees sand dredged from the seabed and pumped onto the beach, replacing levels lost to the sea during the winter.

The project began on Friday at Boygrift - over the next 6 weeks, beaches at Sutton on Sea, Trusthorpe, Mablethorpe, Ingoldmells, Trunch Lane, Walla Bank, Chapel Six Marshes and Huttoft will be replenished.

This reduces the risk of waves reaching and overtopping the main sea defences, protecting them from damage and erosion.

Kevin Abbott, Flood and Coastal Risk Advisor, said:

“The sandy foreshore of our beaches takes the brunt of the waves’ energy, which would otherwise impact on coastal defences like our sea walls. But during the winter, storms can erode the sand from these beaches.”

“Replacing the sand helps extend the life of our sea defences, which in turn reduce flood risk to more than 30,000 homes and businesses, 19,000 static caravans and 35,000 hectares of land.”

This year, around 350,000 cubic metres of sand will be dredged from designated off-shore areas and replaced onto 20km of beach. The dredger used will be the HAM316, which will carry about 10,000 tonnes of sand at a time. The Agency said the equipment used on the beach has the lowest carbon footprint of its class.

The Lincshore scheme first began in 1994 and covers beaches between Skegness and Mablethorpe. The Environment Agency is currently reviewing how coastal flood risk will continue to be managed in the future and will be seeking the views of local communities, businesses and partners to help shape this.

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