A beach management programme which successfully defended homes from Storm Goretti in January will resume next week.
The district’s coastline was hit by unexpectedly forceful winds, causing damage to various structures including the Mermaid Beach breakwater, beach huts and benches.
But crucially, there were no reports of flooding or damage to residential properties – nor injuries or harm to any residents – meaning the bi-annual recycling and regrading of shingle carried out since 2004 did its job effectively.
The latest phase, involving 100,000 tonnes of beach material being moved between Fisherman’s Beach and Folkestone Harbour to create a better barrier to high tides and storms, gets underway on Monday.
Cllr Stephen Scoffham – Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Biodiversity – said: “While we never wanted to test our theory that the beach management programme offers far superior protection than the old timber groynes, Storm Goretti gave us a conclusive answer.
“Shingle will be moved from east to west over a six-to-eight-week period to allow the longshore drift to naturally spread it to aid the prevention of overtopping.”
Any disruption will be kept to a minimum – meanwhile, options to repair the breakwater are still being considered. While the damage looks dramatic, the rock structure below it (the bit that protects the coast) is perfectly intact.