Interim Emergency Measures to Combat Coastal Erosion in Portrane
In response to serious coastal erosion problems at The Burrow Portrane, Fingal County Council is implementing interim emergency measures to protect properties at risk in Portrane. The project will get underway in the coming weeks, Fingal County Council has confirmed.
Costing in the region of €500,000, Fingal County Council has engaged contractors to install 380 ‘SeaBee’ reinforced concrete units along the beach in Portrane above the Mean High Water Level. The ‘SeaBees’ are designed to reduce the force of waves impacting the coastline during stormy conditions.
Installation will be carried out during October and November.
Three lines of ‘SeaBee’ units will be placed along a 270-metre stretch, about 15 metres from the face of the sand dunes. The five-tonne reinforced concrete blocks, which are approximately 1.4 metres high and 1.7 metres wide, will be filled with stone to prevent movement and for public safety reasons. The works will also see the removal of the existing sandbags along the beach, while the Council’s own Operations Department will carry out a clean-up of the beach in tandem with the installation.
Fingal County Council has had extensive engagement with the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) in relation to the emergency measures.
Fingal County Council’s Senior Parks Superintendent, and chairperson of the Fingal Coastal Liaison Group, Kevin Halpenny has emphasised that the planned works were a ‘temporary interim emergency measure’. “These works are not the final solution. This is considered an emergency issue and we are dealing with it on that basis. The advice we have is that this is the best available option and the appropriate approach taking into account all of the circumstances.”
Director of Planning and Strategic Infrastructure AnnMarie Farrelly said: “It is hoped that within a three-year time-frame, a more long-term or permanent coastal management strategy can be brought forward for the protection of areas at risk from erosion in the Rogerstown Estuary including Portrane.”
CAPTION:
The section of coastline at The Burrow Portrane where Coastal Erosion Protection Measures will be implemented.
