MUMBLES COASTAL PROTECTION SCHEME
WELCOME TO
MUMBLES COASTAL PROTECTION SCHEME
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...
AUGUST 29TH | 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 - From North tie into Oytermouth car park
We have substantially completed the vertical walls, and the beach has been reinstated in this area. 16 wall pours have been completed, with only the north tie-in remaining.
During the period, we have partly removed our North access ramp and completed the remaining bases at the North tie-in in readiness to complete the 3 remaining wall pours before the summer holidays.
Wall B - Oystermouth car park to the bowling green
We have completed 65 stepped base pours and 41 vertical wall elements.
Beach has been reinstated to the majority of the completed stepped bases.
We have installed 48 heels, which support the wave return element at the promenade level.
We have completed 20 wave return elements to complete Wall B – the majority of these completed in the period were in the Oyster Wharf area.
We have completed the installation of additional piles to support the new sea view steps at the Oystermouth car park.
We have continued installing drainage in the Oyster Mouth car park in preparation for constructing the secondary wall along the car park boundary.
We have been progressively constructing the secondary wall to the Oystermouth car park, completing copings and resurfacing to minimise disruption to the car park.
The next phases will involve continuing the wave return along the Oystermouth car park and commencing bases to the Seaview steps. We will also complete the 2 transition areas within the Wall B area.
Oyster Wharf area
We completed the raised planters and repaving of the plaza area before Easter this year. Olive trees and planting was completed using temporary timber upstand to support planting, - granite copings have now been received and installed on the plaza side of the planters. We have been concentrating on the progression of the sea wall to this area prior to the busy summer season, and the final wave return was poured last week. The stainless-steel balustrade has been completed for this section, and the new dual-arm lighting columns have been installed and commissioned this week. We are currently preparing for surfacing work to complete works to this area as the external seating areas to the plaza so this section can be reopened to the public for the busy summer holiday period.
Oyster Wharf to Southend Slipway – Revetment C
Revetment C slab construction has continued to the foreshore area, and we have constructed a new outfall and access steps at Cornwall Place. To date, we have completed 41 lower pours, 38 mid pours, and 11 upper pours.
The secondary wall along Promenade Terrace has been substantially completed and the grassed area to the trees has been reinstated.
We unearthed a large section of a timber vessel during excavation for driving sheet piles near the Southend slipway. Our resident archaeologists have investigated and removed this vessel and found rigging and discovered rigging, rope fenders and several leather boots. When the vessel was removed, a further vessel was unearthed beneath, and this is currently being investigated by archaeologists so it can be removed from the footprint of the works so the revetment slopes can be completed.
We have commenced Revetment C heels and wave return adjacent to Promenade Terrace, and the 15 bays to this section should be completed over the next few weeks.
Southend slipway to Verdis
We have completed driving the sheet piles to their final level using a hydraulic piling hammer along the remaining length of the scheme.
Sloped revetment construction has continued to the Southend Car Park area, as well as Heel pours at the Promenade level. We have completed 36 lower pours, 31 mid pours, and 8 upper pours in this area.
We have completed the construction of 27 echelon parking spaces on Mumbles Road and have closed the parking area adjacent to the promenade. The promenade has been diverted to the new footpath adjacent to the parking spaces.
Temporary closure of the footpath will be undertaken to access materials currently stored in the Southend car park. The temporary diversion will be via the intermediate path adjacent to Hennebont Gardens.
We will continue construction of revetment C to the foreshore over the next period and commence completion of wave returns to this section.
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
JULY 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.