Completed Projects

Renewing 4 timber groynes adjacent to Bournemouth Pier

Project progress

March: works completed and the beach was fully re-opened on schedule.

February 2023: works are progressing well at West Cliff.

January 2023: works have begun at West Cliff to renew 2 timber groynes (photos below). East Cliff works are due to complete by the end of January.

Christmas & New Year 2022/23

December: planking works

November: our contractors, Mackley are making good progress at East Cliff. Piling works were completed in early November, allowing planking to begin

October: deconstructing the first of four life-expired timber groynes which will be replaced with four new, more evenly spaced ones:

On site safety

Areas of the beach are restricted for safety reasons as the sand becomes very unstable when it is excavated around groynes. Please do not enter or pass the construction zone along the water’s edge, even at low tide. Dogs should be kept on a lead.

Mackley will be on site during normal working hours; however, the teams work with the lowest tides on a rota system, and this may occur outside daylight hours. All works will be in accordance with planning and environmental consents.

The promenade will remain open for the duration of the works but for safety reasons, the length of beach where works are taking place will be fenced off. These areas become temporary construction sites and all beach visitors are asked not to ignore safety signage. Sand can become very unstable when it is excavated around groynes so people should keep out of these zones, even at low tide.

The project is due for completion by end March 2023.

Deconstructing and reconstructing a timber groyne – how it’s done

Timber used for the new groynes

Each new groyne will be constructed using a mix of new tropical hardwood timber and recycled tropical hardwood planking, from previously deconstructed timber groynes, when available.

Hardwoods used will be Greenheart – a pale yellow to dark olive green wood from Guyana, South America, and Ekki – a dark red / deep chocolate-brown wood from West Africa and the Congo. These timbers have been selected for their strength, durability and resistance to marine life which can destroy wood by boring into and eating it.

FUNKY FACTS ABOUT POOLE BAY GROYNES

A total of 29 piles are sunk for a timber groyne, each pile is 10m long and spaced 2.5m apart. The King pile (out at sea) is 12.5m long. Piles are driven down to the first solid layer of stable substrate/clay. Each groyne is between 5m-7.5m deep and roughly 75m in length. Approximately 225 planks of timber make up a groyne. Generally only the top 5 rows are constructed using new timber; recycled timber is used for the bottom 12-14 rows. Timbers unsuitable for re-use on new groynes are recycled for other projects; for example in 2022, for cladding and decking at the Environmental Hub at Durley Chine, and as part of a footbridge created at a flooded wetland scheme in the Tamar Valley AONB, Cornwall.

Information on projects that reuse BCP groyne timber can be found at our Sustainability page.

Visitor access & safety

Access along the promenade, and to beach huts, will be maintained to enable you to pass the works, but areas of the beach are restricted for safety reasons. The sand becomes very unstable when it is excavated around groynes. For this reason, please do not enter or pass the construction zone along the water’s edge, even at low tide. Dogs should be kept on a lead. 

Once work is finished, restrictions will remain in place until the sand dries out and becomes more compact and stable underfoot.

Environmental considerations

All the groyne renewal works will be carried out in accordance with the Marine Management Organisation licence and planning consent. Additionally, new tropical hardwood timber used for this project is certified sustainable by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC).

The old groynes will be carefully deconstructed to ensure that all suitable materials can be recovered and recycled or re-used in future coastal projects. 

Groynes – their role in coast protection

Beach material generally moves from west to east in Poole Bay. The strategically placed groynes are renewed approximately once every 25 years and slow down the natural processes. Piling and planking deep into the beach to the first solid layer of substrate/clay helps retain the sand within the groyne field.

In combination with periodic beach renourishment (topping-up the beach levels) the groynes also help protect the seawalls and cliffs from erosion.

Previous phases of timber groyne renewal:

• Winter 2021/22 – Year 2 of a two-year renewal project, 4 groynes eastwards from Durley Chine to West Cliff zig zag
• Winter 2020/21 – Year 1 of a two-year renewal project, 4 groynes eastwards from Poole/Bournemouth boundary to Middle Chine
• Winter 2017/18 and 2018/19 – 12 groynes at Southbourne
• Winter 2016/17 – 8 groynes eastwards from Fisherman’s Walk to Gordon’s Corner
• Winter 2015/16 – 10 groynes from the east of Boscombe Pier to Fisherman’s Walk