Eastoke Beach Management FAQs

Under the beach management plan, it is aimed to recycle only shingle material. This maintains the beach profile for longer and absorbs the wave energy more successfully than finer material. 

During the work, the material which is extracted from the beaches to the west of Eastoke is monitored. If it is becoming too fine, the extraction area will be relocated to an area with larger shingle.

The feasibility of nourishing the Eastoke frontage with sand, instead of shingle, was examined as part of the 2009 Eastoke Point Coastal Defence Study undertaken by internationally recognised industry experts HR Wallingford. The study looked at existing information and mathematical modelling to produce their best estimate of how much it would cost and how effective it would be in providing the desired standard of defence.

Here is a summary of the report:

• Estimated cost of £4.5 million per kilometre length to provide the required quantity of sand at Eastoke.
• An additional 25% cost per kilometre run would need to be spent on upgrading/remodelling the timber groyne structures to retain the longer flatter profile of sand beaches.
• Numerical modelling suggested that the sand would almost completely disappear from the beach over one autumn/winter period.
• The operation would have to be undertaken annually at a cost of £8.6 million (approx £13 million in 2024 costs) for the Eastoke frontage, which is £43 million (approx £66 million in 2024 costs) over the duration of the 5 year BMP.  The current cost of importing and recycling shingle for the 5 year BMP is £5.1 million (including contingency).

Other considerations include wind-blown sand onto properties, the steep nearshore beach profile, regional/national sediment supply issues and sand entering harbour mouths, causing navigational issues. South Hayling is a mixed beach, with areas of sand and shingle. A pure sand beach would be something new, not a return to the past. A shingle beach works far more effectively as a coastal defence structure than that of an equivalent sandy beach, even if a sand beach could realistically be maintained, which experience, modelling and the above study conclude is not the case. Shingle is far more effective in dissipating the wave's energy and therefore reduces the overtopping experienced along the Eastoke frontage.

Compacted versus naturally sorted beach:

Hayling Island beach is a mixed sand and shingle beach. Along the Eastoke frontage, the beach is maintained through placement of shingle via beach recycling and recharge (both import via road, and barge). Since the initial large recharge in 1985, we have maintained the beach at Eastoke using primarily shingle grade material. Constructing the beach from shingle, allows the beach to sort itself quicker and absorb the wave’s energy more successfully. When there are too many fines (i.e. sand) placed on the beach, it becomes compacted.  The beach material cannot dissipate the waves as easily, causing erosion and ‘cliffing’ along the seaward face.

Hard versus soft engineering:

Solid structures alone work well in more sheltered environments where still water level flooding dominates.  In exposed, open coast locations, where storm attack prevails, a beach or rock is key to absorbing the wave’s energy as a first line of defence.

A suitable height and width of the beach at Eastoke needs to be in place to reduce the risk of flooding to properties. The beach level is set out in the Beach Management Plan for Eastoke to provide a 1:200-year standard of protection to the properties there. If the height of the beach was reduced, the sea would regularly overtop the seawall during storm events. 

Where possible, the angle of the back slope of the beach is reduced to make it accessible to the public. 

Beach recycling machinery will be delivered to site at Eastoke Corner car park and driven along the crest of the beach during the work. 

During non-working periods the machinery will be stored in the Havant Borough Council (HBC) Compound on Southwood Road. In some cases, such as when working at the western end of the Island, a temporary compound may be placed in the West Beach car park. 

Shingle is left behind this structure through wave energy - during storm events the shingle is thrown over the timber revetment, once it has been put there by the waves, it cannot then naturally re-enter the beach system. It is therefore removed from this location when large areas of accretion are identified, to help reinstate the beach profile at Eastoke.

Remedial works are routinely carried out to the timber revetment to remove voids and ensure the structure can efficiently remove wave energy. It has been identified that some repairs are currently required, and these will be carried out as part of our timber maintenance work later this financial year.

There is no access point to the beach from Meath Close. The steps to the rear of the promenade are primarily to allow access to the promenade behind the beach. 

Access points on to the beach are provided at Eastoke Corner and Creek Road, as well as close to Bosmere Road and Nutbourne Road. 

The timber structures at West Beach were constructed during the 1970s and have now reached the end of their serviceable life. In 2008 Havant Borough Council (HBC) made the decision that the beach management policy at West Beach is ‘natural evolution’. This means that when the defences became a health and safety risk, they would be removed rather than replaced or maintained. 

Since 1976, HBC have spent over £1million in maintaining these defences. As there are no residential properties at risk at this location, new defences are not eligible for government funding.