2,000 tonnes of rock offloaded in Lowestoft to protect homes

After around 2,000 tonnes of rock arrived on sea barges in Lowestoft last Friday and last weekend, heavy plant equipment arrived in town earlier this week.

People were warned to "take care" around the Royal Green and Jubilee Promenade area of Lowestoft with pedestrian access "limited" during the arrival of the equipment on Wednesday.

Some of the 2,000 tonnes of rock unloaded at Pakefield, Lowestoft (Image: Mick Howes)

It will see works "to help reduce the continuing risk of erosion" at Pakefield in Lowestoft carried out over the next six weeks.

Work is continuing at Pakefield in Lowestoft (Image: Mick Howes)

With Coastal Partnership East (CPE) - the coastal management team for East Suffolk Council - contracting Balfour Beatty to carry out the urgent works on the beach in front of Arbor Lane, the rock will be placed "at the base of the cliff, at the most vulnerable points" in front of the access road in Arbor Lane in a bid to reduce erosion to the cliffs.

The rocks being offloaded in Pakefield Lowestoft (Image: Mick Howes)

Ahead of this, a CPE spokesman said: "We have rock!!

"The offloading will happen during high tides and retrieval of offloaded rocks will take place during low tides."

Last Friday, an East Suffolk Council spokesman said: "Depending on wave heights, the rock will be offloaded and work will begin to get things in place as soon as possible to protect the community."

With the rock to be moved into place at the base of the cliff by machinery, it is being carried out as without it "further cliff erosion would increase the risk of the access road being unsafe for use".

The work under way at Pakefield in Lowestoft (Image: Mick Howes)

This would then "impact upon homes that are landward" of this "important access road".

In October, a council spokesman said: "Should the access road be compromised, it could affect more than 25 properties and have the potential to deposit significant quantities of material from the road onto the beach, causing issues of public safety."

The continuing works at Pakefield in Lowestoft (Image: Mick Howes)

In June, East Suffolk Council said that Pakefield had been subject to "unprecedented rates of coastal erosion" since 2019.

And with "accelerated erosion" continuing the owners of four clifftop chalets seaward of Arbor Lane had been told that "demolition is advisable".

The first of the four cliff-edge properties - The Rosary - was demolished in February, while Pakefield Holiday Park has moved some static caravans and lost some concrete bases.