A £63 million coastal defence scheme led by Wyre Council, in partnership with the Environment Agency and main contractor Balfour Beatty, to shore up Rossall’s sea defences while reducing flood risk to 7,500 homes has been officially opened.

The new scheme, which is made up of two kilometres of sea defences, is one of the single biggest investments the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has made in a single coastal flood scheme to date. The Rossall Coastal Protection scheme has been fully funded through DEFRA grant in aid totalling £63.2m (protecting 7,500 properties).

It forms one of the three projects being delivered by the Fylde Peninsula Coastal Programme Partnership, alongside the recently completed Anchorsholme Coastal Protection Scheme in Blackpool and the Fairhaven to Church Scar Coastal Protection Scheme in Lytham.

Designed for the next 100 years to hold back the Irish Sea during major storms, the Rossall flood defences will provide better protection to the town’s tramway, hospital and schools whilst reducing flood risk to 7,500 homes.

The scheme comprises of 1.84km of sheet piles, more than 10,000 specially manufactured precast concrete units, 211,000 tonnes of stone, 46,000m3 of insitu concrete and 327,000 tonnes of locally sourced rock from 12 quarries across the north of the UK.

The Environment Agency builds climate change projections into the design of all of its flood defences to make sure they are fit for the future - the Rossall scheme takes into account changing circumstances in sea level rise and weather patterns over the next 100 years.

Dean Banks, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive Officer for UK Construction Services, described the success of the Rossall scheme as “a testament to the skills and collaborative working relationship between the fully integrated delivery team, with Wyre Council and the Environment Agency.”