Southsea zero waste project contributes more than £12 million into local community

The Southsea Coastal Scheme is the UK’s largest local authority-led coastal defence project.

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Southsea zero waste project contributes more than £12 million into local community

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The project stretches for 4.5km from Old Portsmouth to Eastney and will help to reduce the risk of flooding to more than 10,000 homes and 700 businesses.

It is a once-in-a-generation flood and coastal risk management scheme and includes a mixture of seawalls, stepped revetments, raised promenades, embankments, rock structures and managed shingle beaches coupled with highway and public realm improvements. The project will also preserve heritage and enhance recreational and green areas, whilst aiming for zero waste.

A VolkerStevin and Boskalis Westminster joint venture (VSBW) secured the contract as construction partners in Summer 2019. Working as an integrated client, design, and construction team, VSBW was tasked with helping our client and their designer to overcome the challenges of planning, costing, gaining approval and funding, and finally constructing six frontages of work, across a seven-year programme. Our management team work alongside our client and designer, to plan and gain approval for each frontage in turn, before beginning construction.


Construction work began in September 2020 on Frontage 1 between Long Curtain Moat and Clarence Pier and included the demolition of the existing seawall, installing a replacement sheet piled and clad defence wall, placing rock armour and raising the promenade.

The second phase in the programme, Frontage 4 around Southsea Castle, is due for completion by spring 2024. All coastal engineering has been completed meaning the sea defences in this section are fully functional. The team developed a value-engineered solution for this phase, meaning less rock would be used for the revetment sea defences. The requirement for less piling also benefited the historic castle and tunnels due to vibrational risks being reduced. The new promenade design incorporates enhanced features for local people and tourists, such as wider pedestrian walkways.

Construction has started on Frontage 5 (Pyramids to Speakers’ Corner), with the team installing T-wall units which separate the promenade from the road. The wall is part of the secondary sea defences, with the beach (which acts as the primary sea defence) being made larger as part of the scheme. The installation of pre-cast step units will lead from the promenade onto the beach. A total of 141 pre-cast steps will be installed along the edge of the promenade.

Rock works continue at Frontage 3 and, with the use of a long reach excavator, the team will be moving some of the rocks from a stockpile into place next to the Blue Reef Aquarium.

Work on Frontages 6 and 2 will start in 2026 and 2027 respectively.


With environmentally designated special protection areas either side of the coastline, developing and delivering the works in a sustainable manner has been a key consideration. Nature-based solutions and biodiversity play a vital role, enhancing habitat creation and species preservation, and increasing the number of green areas. A temporary habitat has been provided for internationally protected Brent geese which normally migrate to the area where our compound is sited. After consultation with Natural England, the Solent Waders and the Brent Goose Society, an adjacent area was closed off and a temporary refuge created, using fake plastic geese and audio devices to encourage them to use the area.

The project is committed to zero waste across all six frontages, with a materials processing site established to crush, grade and store material for use on future frontages e.g. raising the promenade and road on Frontage 3. The processing site will save the project £4m in waste disposal costs and nearly 4,000t of carbon and 25,000 wagon movements through Portsmouth.



To date, the scheme has contributed more than £12 million through local jobs, training, and investment. Almost three quarters of the workforce are local and so far the scheme has engaged with over 70 local organisations, and volunteered 968 hours to community projects, educational visits and site visits.

Once complete, the Southsea Coastal Scheme will provide more than £100m worth of flood protection measures and will bring more economic benefits to the area, including attracting further tourism and additional events.


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