Repair works to begin at Southwold promenade

Saturday, 15 February 2025 06:00

Repair work to fill voids under a collapsed section of promenade at Southwold will begin later this month, ahead of planned repairs to the seawall.

East Suffolk Council’s repairs and maintenance contractor, the Water Management Alliance (WMA), will begin work on the damaged section of promenade north of Southwold Pier from Monday 24th February. This follows the partial collapse of the promenade in December.

The WMA will be filling the voids under the promenade and replacing the collapsed slabs. This work will last approximately three weeks and will precede the planned repairs to the ‘toe’ of the sea wall. Erosion damage to the toe, which is usually underneath beach material, had previously been identified and repairs were scheduled for later this year. However recent erosion had exposed this area more quickly than expected, which resulted in the partial collapse of the promenade and the repair works have been brought forward as quickly as possible. Work on the sea wall will begin from Tuesday 22nd April and is intended to be complete before the start of the school summer holidays.

Philip Ridley, East Suffolk’s Head of Nationally Significant Infrastructure said: “Our coastal management team have worked with consenting organisations to bring the scheduled repairs to the sea wall forward, which in combination with the repairs to the promenade, will see this section of the seafront returned to its former good condition and reopened once work is complete.

“The cordon to the north of the pier will remain in place until all works are complete and we would remind people to take extra care in this area and take notice of any signage and fencing.”

A works compound will be sited in the council-owned car park at Southwold Pier, and whilst this will reduce the number of available parking spaces, both car parks north of Southwold Pier will remain open.

There will be no access to the promenade or the beach in the area where the works are taking place.