Latest Works
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Annual Maintenance Recharge in August
27th August 2010
As August approaches thoughts are beginning to turn to the annual beach recharge, which as usual will be directed at Sovereign Harbour’s rock revetment. Sospan Dau is currently on her way back from a job in Spain and has two short contracts to fulfil in South Wales, before turning her attention to Sussex.
Here work will again be undertaken at Bulverhythe, Pevensey and Seaford, with an estimated start date around 24th August. Because Bulverhythe has a shallower foreshore than Pevensey, work over the late August spring tide is likely to be focussed there. In all probability work at Pevensey will not start until September, but this may of course change depending on what weather we receive at the time.
Sovereign Harbour residents will hopefully be pleased to hear that there will be no machines used on the beach for material recovery, the material being allowed to be spread by subsequent wave action.
Work finishes for Winter 2009-10
23rd April 2010
The final bulldozer left the beach today, and hopefully will not have to return until autumn. I hope this will herald a long and relaxing summer for us all.
General Recycling (Duration: 2-3 days)
6th April 2010
Having completed a beach survey last Friday, it is apparent that we now need to do a little more work as a result of last week’s storm. Most of it can be achieved using one bulldozer for another couple of weeks, but early next week we will need to move shingle from the Camping & Caravan Club beach (Coast Road) back to Beachlands. This should only last two days.
Harbour Bypassing (Duration: 1 week)
22nd March 2010
From Monday 22nd March we expect to transfer shingle round Sovereign Harbour from Langney, adding it the beach by the north harbour revetment. Works will start at 07:30 each day and be completed by 17:30.
Long Distance Recycling (Duration: 1 week)
15th March 2010
Monday will see the start of shingle movement from Cooden/Herbrand Walk to 'White Horses'/Sovereign Harbour. There will be six trucks travelling in convoy with each return journey taking about 75 minutes. As usual they will be restricted to 10mph. The work will last just 5 days, start at 07:30 each day and finish by 17:30.
At the same time you will see Sospan Dau working at Sovereign Harbour dredging the entrance channel for Premier Marinas. As part of a concerted move towards improving sustainability we will be trying to reuse any clean sand and shingle that is dredged from the entrance rather than see it all dumped out in a licensed are in Eastbourne Bay. When suitable material is identified in the dredger’s hold, the skipper will divert the vessel to the area seaward of 'White Horses' and Pevensey Bay Sailing Club. Most of what will be found will be sand, which will be bottom-dumped in the area just above MLW. A bulldozer will be on hand daily to ensure that any shingle is pushed ashore and to dissipate any small amounts of silt that may be included with the sand. Given the tidal constraints of working inshore and any waves that may develop, we have no idea how many loads may be delivered, but certainly the vast majority will still be disposed of at sea. Similarly, duration of the work will depend on the weather, but in any case it has to be completed by the end of March when the disposal license expires for the season.
General Recycling (Duration: 2-3 weeks)
24th February 2010
Since a tempestuous November all has been relatively quiet, and hence beach works for the last 10 weeks or so have been very limited. The highest spring tides of the year are due in the very early hours of Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd March, so it will be a surprise if we escape as lightly as we did for similar tides in January.With this in mind we will be starting an excavator and two dumptrucks tomorrow to do some final reinforcement at Beachlands and Normans Bay East before the weekend. Where they work after that depends on the weather we receive between now and Monday morning, but once they are on site they will available at a few hours notice to deal with whatever comes our way. I am sure one way and another they will work at Cooden, Herbrand Walk, Normans Bay East, Beachlands, 'White Horses' and Sovereign Harbour – all in relatively short hauls. All things being equal they will continue in this way until Friday 12th March, although the number of trucks will be increased if necessary.
Autumn Beach Maintenance Works
7th October 2009
The recent change in the weather heralds the start of this autumn’s beach maintenance works. A bulldozer started on this morning’s low tide and will then work throughout the winter.
Over the next few days further machines will arrive ready to start recycling work on Monday morning. It is unlikely on this occasion that the trucks will run the full length of the beach.
Initially they will start at Cooden and move beach to Herbrand Walk and Normans Bay East. Once that is complete shingle will be taken from in front of the Camping & Caravan Club campsite, to be transferred to Beachlands and 'White Horses'/Sovereign Harbour.
Dredger Sospan Dau's final delivery
20th August 2009
Dredger Sospan Dau delivered her final cargo to Sovereign Harbour yesterday morning and has now left to carry out beach recharge works for the Environment Agency at Bulverhythe and Seaford. In all she placed just over 21,000cu.m of gravel on the beach - approx. 40,000 tonnes. This was achieved in 29 loads, with only a single tide being lost to a mechanical problem. Dredging and pumping shingle results in considerable abrasion to the vessel's pipework, particularly on bends. Before she can start at Bulverhythe several repairs are having to be carried out in Newhaven harbour.
The material delivered will initially be allowed to move along the beach by wave action alone. A bulldozer will be brought in should the mounds become hazardously steep or when the first autumnal gales arrive.
Annual Maintenance Recharge to start early
30th July 2009
The Annual Maintenance Recharge is now scheduled to start early next weekand last for two to three weeks.
As usual all new shingle will be placed in the area of Sovereign Harbour's rock revetment in the north harbour, with all material sourced from Owers Bank, a few miles offshore from Littlehampton.
Once started, the operation will continue 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the required volume has been imported.
Much of the time is spent in transit between the beach and the dredge area, not working on the beach.
It is a tidal operation with deliveries taking approximately one hour over high water.
Weather permitting, shingle will be deposited every high tide, day and night. We hope to be able to leave the deposition mounds in place and allow the sea to naturally smooth out each delivery. This will mean there will not be a bulldozer working at low water. However, if the sea stays particularly calm, then a machine may need to brought in near the end to ensure an even distribution. Disturbance to residents should therefore be kept to a minimum.
