A shining light(house)
Southsea Castle’s iconic lighthouse has been lit up for the first time since being taken out of use in 2017, thanks to new contemporary artwork by Turner Prize nominee Nathan Coley. The illuminated artwork wraps around the lantern gallery at the top of the lighthouse and is part of a seafront arts programme commissioned by Portsmouth City Council, thanks to funding from Arts Council England. The lighthouse installation was part of the launch of Portsmouth’s centenary events, a year-long celebration to mark 100 years since Portsmouth gained city status. Read more.
Memories…
From the start of March, memorial benches will be removed from the promenade between Speakers’ Corner and South Parade Pier as sea defence construction continues. The existing plaques will be placed on temporary benches like the one shown here from previous removals (next to the Blue Reef Aquarium). We wrote to bench owners in October 2025 but have not had many responses, so if you have a bench here, or know someone who does, please get in touch by emailing southseacoastalscheme@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Extending ourselves
At Frontage 3 (Southsea Common) we’ve extended the barrier at the Blue Reef Aquarium end of our site to allow for work including new kerbing for the two-way cycle lane, ducting and surfacing for the area in front of Blue Reef. A new zebra crossing will also be added in front of Blue Reef. Monument reinstallation continues, with the Peel Shannon monument next for completion. Meanwhile, on the beach near South Parade Pier the final pipes are being removed, and a small area of beach has been fenced off as we demobilise the sinker line here. We expect that the beach should be all clear in the next couple of weeks.
Shingle solution
We’ve had several questions asking why we are not importing sand rather than shingle to widen the beach between the Pyramids and Eastney. Shingle helps defend us from storm surges as the shingle helps to take energy out of the waves whereas sand would just get washed away after a big storm, leaving Southsea vulnerable to major flood events. It would also cost 10 times more to maintain compared to our shingle beach.
The material we have imported is a sandy gravel mix, taken from a local source. It’s currently highly mixed but will undergo some natural sorting as the waves and coastal processes shape the beach over time. This may mean that some areas are more sandy or gravelly than others. We expect that around every 10 years the beach will need maintenance which could include reshaping and adding more material.
