TONNES of rocks will be placed along the shoreline as part of a multimillion-pound scheme.

A project to safeguard Brighton and Hove against flooding is moving forward as part of a £35 million scheme to protect the shoreline from Brighton Marina to the mouth of the River Adur.

As part of the plan 15,000 tonnes of rocks will be placed off of Basin Road South in Hove close to Western Esplanade.

In a planning application submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council, JBA Consulting said historic storm events have previously led to flooding of commercial premises and properties along Brighton seafront and on adjacent roads.

The rock armour in Hove would stretch for around 261 metres and would be some three metres high in a scheme designed to help large parts of the Sussex coastline.

The complete project covering £10 kilometres is partially funded by the government as well as the city council, Adur District Council and Shoreham Port Authority.

If approved, the rock revetment will be built later this year.

The planning application for the development was submitted on March 1 and has yet to be approved. The determination deadline for the project is set for May 31.

A second application has also been submitted to Adur District Council for rock revetments further west down the beach off of Basin Road South.

Western Esplanade Management Company has been funding its own projects separately, in Hove.

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said:

“The Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management scheme covers 10km of seafront.

“The stretch of seafront managed by the Western Esplanades Management Company is only a tiny fraction of the full 10km.


Get more stories delivered to your inbox every day by signing up to our morning newsletter


“We are the lead agency for the scheme, and we work in close collaboration with our various coastal partners.

“The development costs for the scheme were estimated by our Engineering Consultants and costs distributed between the partners based upon benefit-cost ratios and partnership funding calculations in line with Environment Agency guidance and the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

“The contributions were subsequently agreed by all partners and approved by the Environment Agency in 2020.

“Western Esplanade Management Company acted on the advice of the outline business case to raise their own groynes at their own expense. This work was completed independently to the financing and management of our ongoing scheme.”