New rock armor arrives at Minehead seafront

The Environment Agency said that they plan to extend coastal flood defenses at Minehead seafront this spring, bringing greater protection to the town’s 355 properties and businesses. 

The project, worth just under £1 million, will extend existing rock armor to the east of the town, near Butlins and Minehead Golf Course.

Work is expected to begin in spring 2026 and take several months to complete. 

More than 5,000 tons of rock armor will be used to strengthen defenses across 100 meters of a vulnerable shingle ridge at the Warren. Materials will be transported by road, requiring approximately 250 lorry movements during the construction period.  

Minehead’s eastern esplanade is currently protected from coastal flooding by a natural shingle ridge. According to EA, this ridge is vulnerable to erosion from winter storms, and rock armor has previously been used to reinforce it. Parts of the town are particularly at risk during north-westerly storms and high tides. 

This latest scheme follows the successful completion of coastal defense works in 2023, when 14,500 tons of granite rock armor reinforced Minehead’s sea wall. Since then, erosion to the sand face at the end of the existing rock armor section has made this next phase necessary.

The new works will also indirectly help to reduce the impact of flash flooding in the area.