Go east…
Our trailing suction hopper dredger Gateway has powered through pumping shingle to the west side of South Parade Pier and has now started on the eastern side. The dredger will continue working here until mid-December. These works are 24/7 and the Gateway will be discharging approximately twice per day, resulting in over a million tonnes of shingle being placed onto Southsea’s beach between The Pyramids and the Coffee Cup at Eastney, forming the primary flood defence here.
Boom! Cannons return to monument.
The four cast iron cannons from the Shannon Peel monument are now back in place, muzzle upwards in the monument’s base. Also in this area, Yorkstone (a variety of sandstone taken from quarries in Yorkshire) slabs have been laid around the Aboukir monument. The same slabs will be placed around all of the Grade II listed monuments that will be placed centrally along the new promenade to create a ‘memorial walk’.
Paving the way
More Yorkstone paving has been laid along the length of the Naval War Memorial to create a wide, formal and highly presentable pedestrian area in front of the memorial. Once this area is complete, the pedestrian area will be flush with the memorial base, so there will be no steps needed to access it – creating step-free access to the memorial for the first time since 1953. The road surface in front of the memorial will look different to other sections of road and cycle lane, helping to emphasise the significance of the memorial. Two crossing points with drop kerbs will be added to encourage public access.
Final call – we want to hear from you!
You may have seen our three seafront signs already and we hope you enjoy the updates on these. We’d also like to feature some of you along our seafront! Please send in your photos of you/your family/friends enjoying the new seafront with a paragraph about what it means to you. We’ll pick our favourites to be featured in the seafront signs during the first three weeks in December leading up to Christmas week. Email entries to southseacoastalscheme@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
