Brief Overview of West Beach

West Beach is situated on the southwest corner of Hayling Island between the Inn-on-the-Beach and the Hayling Golf Club. In the early part of the 20th century, the coastline at West Beach was much further landward and Gunner Point was not the prominent feature that it is today. The construction of the former lifeboat station (now known as Inn-on-the-beach) influenced the coastline position.  Timber defences, including a revetment and groynes were then constructed west of this building in the mid 1970s.  This building and coastal defences have evolved the coastline to its current shape and position. The West Beach timber revetment and groynes were effective and enabled development of the car park and provision of beach huts.

As Hayling is exposed to large, powerful waves, over time the structures have become worn by the action of the waves costing Havant Borough Council over the years over £1 million of routine maintenance spent to extend their life. In 2008, after reviewing potential impacts to the coastline and flood risk, these timber structures were identified to be at the end of their life and the Council agreed to not repair of reconstruct these when failure occurred. 

Following storm damage, the western section of the revetment was removed in March 2012 and a further section in June 2013, with approval in principle to remove the remaining sections once the structure became unmaintainable. Since these operations, the previously adjoining groynes became outflanked and rapidly deteriorated. These groynes were submerged at high tide and held very little beach material. As a result, they were removed between 2018 and 2021 due to the unacceptable health and safety risk that they posed.  

Currently, the remaining revetment and its associated groyne (groyne 53) are functional despite their age. Their condition is being monitored and decisions on the future of the remaining timber structures will be taken when the condition changes.

Monitoring surveys are undertaken by our Geomatics Division, to help understand the natural evolution taking place at West Beach.

In 2024, Havant Borough Council approved a modest capital investment towards looking at potential works to manage the erosion at West Beach. This will be a ‘Do Minimum’ approach, working collaboratively with neighbouring landowners to give more certainty in this dynamic situation.

To view some frequently asked questions, please visit our FAQ page