Preston Beach

Background information

Behind Preston Beach is the A353 - the main road linking Weymouth to the east of the county; Weymouth Sealife Centre and Lodmoor Nature reserve.  The road was often closed in winter due to overtopping by waves and wind driving shingle onto the road.  The increase in salt water reaching the wetland nature reserve (Lodmoor), managed by the RSPB,  was having a negative impact on the ecosystem.  The only protection against this was a narrow, steep beach and a low, decaying sea wall.  

In 1996 a scheme involving the Environment Agency and the controlling councils was completed, it involved:

	Widening (now 20 m wide) and deepening (from 1 m to 2.5 m) the beach  with the aim of preventing overtopping and also providing a better beach for visitors.  This is know an beach nourishment and is a soft engineering solution. 570,000 tonnes of shingle and 6,200 tonnes of rock were used
	To stop the shingle being moved by Longshore Drift onto sandy Weymouth beach, a fish-tail groyne was constructed.
	The old sea wall was replaced with a higher-wider construction which included a wide walkway (promenade). The road side of this has some planting on it to lessen visual impact.
	The outflow and intake pipes which connect the sea and nature reserve were extended and the sluice gate renovated to improve its effectiveness.

Total cost £1.7 million.