Time for the next Southsea beachfill campaign

Dredging

Starting on the October 1st 2025 as part of vital coastal defence improvements, around one million tonnes of beach material will be added to the beach between the Pyramids and the Coffee Cup at Eastney.

Photo courtesy of the Southsea Coastal Scheme

The significant increase will see the beach double in size when shingle is dredged locally from the Solent near the Isle of Wight and deposited onto the beach by a pipeline from the dredger.

A one meter diameter pipeline has been laid across the beach to the west of South Parade Pier. This pipe will connect to a large dredging vessel which will discharge the material onto the beach.

The material will then be spread along the beach and profiled using heavy machinery, working around the tides. Work will take place from October and is due to be completed by 27 March 2026.

During the shingle discharging, access to the beach will be limited for safety reasons with some stepped access over the pipeline available.

Similar work was undertaken on a smaller scale earlier this year during beach import work along the beach in front of Southsea Common.