Balfour Beatty completes £63m Rossall coastal defences

Contractor Balfour Beatty has completed a sea defence project on the Fylde peninsula, described as the largest single investment in coastal flood defence by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

The defences run along the coast between Anchorsholme and Rossall and form part of the wider Fylde coastal programme which runs from Lytham to north of Blackpool.

The scheme started in April 2014 and Balfour Beatty has worked with designer CH2M throughout the project to install 10,000 pre-cast concrete units, alongside more than 86,000 tonnes of rock underlayer and 241,000 tonnes of rock armour.

Balfour Beatty also worked with Salford University on the design and its concrete mix for the project.

The defence, which stretches for around 1.2 miles and is roughly 57m wide, will now protect around 7,500 homes along the peninsula from flooding.

As well as the sea defences the works have also seen the contractor build a new ecology park and a lagoon behind the sea wall.

Environment Agency chief executive James Bevan said: “This is one of the biggest investments ever in a coastal flood scheme. It will reduce flood risk to 7,500 homes, create new green space and benefit the local economy, including by using locally sourced materials.

“It’s a great example of partnership: by working together the Environment Agency, Wyre Council, our other partners and the local community have helped create an even better place for people and wildlife.”