FINGAL County Council is to carry out interim emergency measures to protect properties at risk from coastal erosion in Portrane.
The project at the Burrow will cost in the region of €500,000 and will be carried out during October and November. There has been growing concern about the impact of serious coastal erosion on local properties, as previously reported by this newspaper.
The council has now engaged contractors to install 380 ‘SeaBee’ reinforced concrete units along the beach in Portrane above the mean high water level. The devices are designed to reduce the force of waves impacting the coastline during stormy conditions.
Members of the Fingal Coastal Liaison Group, comprising local councillors and members of communities affected by coastal erosion, were briefed about the project last week and were fully supportive of the planned interim measures.
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 area 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.
Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Minister for the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Flood Relief, said: “I welcome the announcement that Fingal County Council is implementing interim emergency measures to protect properties at risk from coastal erosion in Portrane, with financial assistance from the OPW’s Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme.
“I look forward to the development and implementation by Fingal County Council of a permanent coastal protection option for all those affected by coastal erosion in the area.”
Fingal County Council’s Senior Parks Superintendent and chairperson of the Fingal Coastal Liaison Group, Kevin Halpenny, emphasised that the planned works will be a temporary interim emergency measure.
“These works are not the final solution,” he said. “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.
“The ‘SeaBees’ are installed in a staggered formation and work by baffling the waves and significantly decreasing their energy.”
Director of Planning and Strategic Infrastructure with Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, added: “It is hoped that within a three-year timeframe 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.”