Wyre Council is a member of the North West Coastal Group; a group dedicated to the management of our coastline.
Wyre’s strategy to manage flood and coastal erosion has been developed in line with the shoreline management plan, which covers the North West coast.
The shoreline management plan provides a large-scale assessment of the risks associated with erosion and flooding at the coast. It also presents policies to help manage these risks to people and to the developed, historic and natural environment in a sustainable manner.
Our coastal defence strategy has led to the development of the Cleveleys and Rossall flood protection schemes. We are now working on the next phase which is the Wyre Beach Management scheme.
For information about flooding and how best to be prepare see emergency planning.
Cleveleys coastal defence scheme
The Cleveleys coastal defence scheme was completed in 2010 and replaced one kilometre of dilapidated coastal defences dating from the 1920s.
The whole seafront has been redesigned with a split-level promenade for the public to enjoy, including a waved revetment used for primary flood defence. The adjacent park was included in the improvements and a new leisure complex built behind the sea wall.
Project objectives
The main objective was flood risk management to protect the 8,700 properties and 219 industrial units to a one in 200 year standard to safeguard the town of Cleveleys from tidal flooding.
There have been a number of additional benefits from the works such as:
- an enhanced promenade to provide intrigue, education and participation
- enhancement of the tourism offer and spin off benefits for the retail and business community
- 150 jobs created during the construction phase
- joining the town with the beach, for solely functional purposes
- improved image of the town, improved public spaces and benefits to the local economy through tourism and local investment
- a sense of local community pride that has risen in the wake of the construction work
- regeneration and sustainability of Cleveleys
- an enhanced the visitor attraction of the 'shopping by the sea' culture by linking the high street offer to that of the promenade
Additional funding was secured to develop the Mythic Coast artwork trail through Sea Change funding which was secured through the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE)
The scheme was completed ahead of schedule and within original budgets. The initial efforts to test materials and invest in quality has paid off, with the scheme looking as good as new a decade on.
Rossall coast defence scheme
The Rossall coast protection scheme replaced two kilometres of sea defences from Rossall hospital to Rossall Point, in a £63 million coastal defence scheme that protects 7,500 properties from the risk of flooding. The scheme was completed in 2018, £6 million under budget, demonstrating the council's commitment to securing value for money and our success in delivering large scale projects.
327,000 tonnes of rock armour was used to create the base of the defences, to weather the harsh conditions on this exposed part of the coastline and allow the beach to build up in the area. Between the rock revetment and the promenade, specially manufactured precast concrete was used to form a stepped revetment to break the waves. The promenade has also been significantly widened.
An ecology park on the landward side of the defences was created and is known as Larkholme Grasslands. This was designed by Lancashire County Council with bridges and artwork by Stephen Broadbent, a British sculptor who specialises in public art. This strip of grassland, from West Way to Fleetwood Golf Club, is already classed as a biological heritage site because of the rarer species of flora and fauna that grow there. The area was enhanced to allow residents to enjoy the rich and diverse wildlife.
Rossall Coastal Protection Scheme video