Fisherman's Beach to Battery Point (MU 20/1 - 20/4)

To protect against the potential risk of flooding to the low-lying areas of Hythe that would result in a breach of the seawall defences, the Hythe Coast Protection Scheme was implemented in 1996. The scheme comprised beach recharge, combined with the construction of two terminal rock groynes, which act as collection points for the annual recycling operation. The renourished beach provides protection to the near-vertical seawall along this frontage. This wall has been breached as a result of undermining many times in the past and now relies on the beach fronting it to prevent it from being damaged during storm events.

In general the scheme performs well, although since the time of construction, beach volumes have reduced and the standard of defence provided has lowered. This gradual loss of beach material was anticipated and ‘top-up’ recharge at 5 to 10 year intervals was planned as part of the original scheme.

Between St Leonard’s Road and Stade Street an adequate beach width is difficult to maintain. This is due to the slight convex nature of the defences forcing the seawall opposite St Leonard’s Road to be seaward of the natural shoreline alignment. Although the initial standard of protection offered the Hythe Coast Protection Scheme was approximately 1 in 100, the combination of increasing sea levels and the continual loss of shingle from this frontage means that further works are required to maintain this standard in the long term.