MUMBLES COASTAL PROTECTION SCHEME
WELCOME TO
MUMBLES COASTAL PROTECTION SCHEME
We wish to inform the community that starting tomorrow morning, a 90-metre section of Promenade Terrace located to the rear of Devon Place will be closed to facilitate the construction of the remaining section of the sea wall. To ensure continued accessibility, the eastern section of Promenade Terrace, spanning from Southend Slipway to Village Lane, will be reopened for southerly one-way traffic. Notices informing of these changes have been posted locally over the past two weeks, and affected residents received a letter last week. We anticipate that the sea wall construction will take approximately 12 to 14 weeks. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we undertake these essential works to enhance our community’s coastal infrastructure. You can view the plan and find out more by clicking the link below.
The Mumbles Coastal Protection scheme aims to protect the community against coastal flooding and rising tides and will remodel the prom as a safe, modern, inclusive visitor attraction.
Swansea Council recently secured funding under the Welsh Government’s Coastal Risk Management Programme to undertake essential Coastal Protection works to a section of the existing sea defences at Mumbles promenade. The improvement works will afford enhanced flood and coastal erosion protection to businesses and residential properties currently at long-term risk of flooding. The protection works will be undertaken from Knab Rock to a point approximately 250m north of Oystermouth Square.
Knights Brown has been appointed as the contractor to undertake the work, which is currently planned to commence in January 2023 and be completed over approximately 120 weeks.
The project, driven by Swansea Council, will help protect the community’s homes, businesses and people for decades to come. It also aims to improve Mumbles as a destination, with new lighting, litter bins, seating and better links to Mumbles Road.
JOIN US...
DECEMBER 5 | 1:00 - 3:00 PM
VICTORIA HALL, MUMBLES
We would like to invite you to join us at our latest information-sharing session for the
Mumbles Coastal Protection Scheme
It is a brilliant opportunity to meet the team and ask any questions you may have about the project.
LATEST INFORMATION
Wall A:
We are pleased to report that the walls of Wall A have been completed, and significant progress has been made on the installation of handrails along the edge of the wall. In the new year, we will be focusing on progressing with the surfacing works of the promenade in this section.
Wall B:
Progress on Wall B has been going well, with 58 sections completed so far, extending from Oystermouth Car Park to the Oyster House Hotel. This month, we have also completed large concrete pours for the seaview steps at Oystermouth car park, and we are on track to complete the steps in the coming weeks. The installation of handrails and surfacing works to the promenade are underway, and we are aiming to partially open this section to the public before Christmas.
Revetment C:
Work on the pilot slipway is ongoing, and we have completed the side concrete pours, tying it into the existing wall at Verdi's. This week, we will be commencing with the installation of a retaining wall section towards the back of the pilot slipway. Excavation works have also begun on the Southend slipway side sections. The sloped transition section
between Wall B and Revetment C is progressing at Promenade Terrace, with the remaining sloped pours to be completed shortly. We have fully completed 92 revetment C sections so far. The promenade surfacing works have also been completed from the Southend slipway to The George, and public access will be available soon.
Secondary Wall & Public Realm Works:
The masonry secondary wall is steadily progressing, with completion achieved in Oystermouth Car Park, Promenade Terrace, and a large section near Southend Car Park. Works have been going well in the car park opposite, with the installation of drainage, kerbs, a section of carriageway, and pedestrian footway completed to date.
Archaeological Finds
We have had lots of questions about whether we have found anything of archaeological interest during our work.
Prior to commencing work, archaeologists had documented existing known assets that could be affected by the works.
We also undertook investigation work in areas where we anticipated assets could be disturbed. As part of the project, we have an archaeologist who oversees our work and undertakes a watching brief of ongoing excavations in the peat.
To date, the following items have been discovered:
May 23: Bow Section of an oyster boat – investigated and re-buried
Section of trackway – adjacent to one of the wrecks – old worked timber -removed to Lampeter University for further investigation
Oct 23: Small piece of tram track.
Plaque from Swansea gas light company was lent on hire in 1891.
April 2023 - We uncovered a piece of maritime history near the Southend slipway - a large timber vessel. Our archaeologists are diligently documenting this find.
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
Mumbles is currently protected by two types of coastal defences; a 0.5km-long mass concrete vertical sea wall that runs from Oystermouth Square to the bowling green area and a 0.7km sloping revetment structure that runs from the bowling green area to near Verdi's.
Some of these existing defences were built over a century ago and are in poor condition and at risk of flooding. The flood risk level is expected to increase in the future due to predicted sea level rises. A lack of action would put a number of homes and businesses at risk of flooding. The main aim of this project is to strengthen the sea wall and raise the heights of key parts of it to protect the area from future flooding.
The project will combine enhanced coastal defences with improvements to the Promenade right next to the main seawall.
The main areas of work will include:
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bringing the prom up to one level as it currently dips gradually from both ends (Verdis and Oyster Wharf) by up to around half a metre in the middle section
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strengthening the main coastal defence structure, main wall and revetment.
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replace existing railings with a low pedestrian wall similar to that currently at the Oystermouth Square car park.
Work will include widening the existing promenade to create a share with care pedestrian footpath and cycleway. This will improve connectivity and accessibility and promote sustainable active travel. Other public realm improvements include improved seating, views and connectivity, with enhanced hard and soft landscaping.
Work will see parts of the prom closed to the public in a phased manner throughout the work, expected to take around 22 months.
Access to homes and businesses will remain throughout.
Latest Progress Flight & Images
SEPTEMBER 2024
Latest Progress Flight & Images
November 2023
October Progress Flight
October Update
It has been a busy month for our site team as work has continued along the foreshore and on the promenade.
We’ve been hard at work constructing the stepped bases on the foreshore, and to date, 32 stepped bases have been cast within the section by Oystermouth Car Park. Work will continue on the remaining stepped bases during the winter months.
Construction work has also started on the wall sections that contain weep holes cored through the existing sea wall; these holes will allow residual groundwater to pass through the new works. Once we have completed the step sections in that location they will be backfilled and we will commence concrete pours to construct the sea walls.
We have started reinforcing the revetment between the tennis courts and Southend Slipway. So far, we have completed half a dozen lower concrete pours. These works are being completed around the tides. On the Promenade, we have completed a 75m stretch of secondary stone flood wall from the Oyster House hotel up to the end of Promenade Terrace. We are currently working on the stone planters and seating areas in front of Prezzo, aiming to complete the work during the winter months
when footfall is lower. These works will continue for the next 3-4 weeks and are weather-dependent. While these works are being undertaken, there will be a localised pedestrian diversion past the Oyster House Hotel area. Signage and lights have been erected to ensure the safety of pedestrians. Cyclists are required to dismount through the diverted area.
