Together with a £4.7M contribution from Ceredigion County Council, the Senedd’s Coastal Risk Management Programme will pay for the scheme, which is to be constructed by Bam Nuttall.
Designed over the course of five years in collaboration with Atkins, the scheme includes construction of a new masonry and glass wall along Quay Parade/Pen Cei, as well as grouting repairs of the existing quayside wall, raising of the existing River Aeron flood wall between the rear of Y Seler and the A487 and construction of a new masonry and glass flood wall between Pwll Cam and Y Seler.
The works will also include construction of a new rock breakwater extending out from one of the coastal piers, refurbishment and re-building of the other pier-head to the south, including grouting repairs of the walls and construction of a flood gate at Pwll Cam inner harbour.
Improvements to the existing defences on South Beach will also be implemented. The work will see the replacement of existing timber groynes, replacement and extension of the existing rock revetment and beach renourishment.
It is understood the council hopes the scheme will protect the coastline from rising sea levels and storms and protect people and property from flooding for the near future. Aberaeron has a dynamic coastline with a legacy of flooding and damage from storms, and with the onset of climate change and predicted rises in sea levels, it is believed these events are likely to increase in frequency and severity.
The area is exposed to a wide range of wave conditions from the North-West and South-Westerly directions, with storm waves entering through the harbour entrance causing overtopping of the harbour walls and in extreme conditions overtopping the inner secondary wall. Storms in December 2013, January 2014 and October 2017 led to the closure of Quay Parade and overtopping of the current defences within the harbour and south beach.
Works to protect Aberaeron from coastal flooding have previously included significant engineering works completed in 2009 at North Beach. This included a raised sea wall, beach nourishment and shore control structures. Those works have had a significant benefit in protecting the north-western part of the town from overtopping flood risk from the sea, but only addressed part of the flood risk problem.
Bam Nuttall has a history with this portion of Welsh coast, completing the Aberaeron North Beach works in 2009 and the first two phases of the Borth to Ynyslas Coastal Defence Scheme in 2012 and 2015.
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