What about me?
It would be great if we could assure you that you won’t even notice the contractors and workers on the beach but unfortunately we can’t do that. All construction work causes inconvenience and even when we know these works are being carried out for our own future good, this does not make the work any less noisy or annoying. What we are aiming to do is reduce the impact that large scale construction creates. Here are some of the ways we are going about it:
Vibration
16 new groynes are going to be built which means a lot of pile‐driving; 384 of them in total but remember this is spread over half a kilometre of seafront. Based on similar sea defence
Jobs we’ve done in the past, we are confident that this will not cause high vibrations.
However, we will be carefully monitoring the situation on a seismograph to ensure that everything stays within the acceptable limits as defined in European standards. The seismograph will be set up outside the house nearest the piling.
Noise
The groynes have 24 piles each. Based on progress on similar jobs it should take about 2/3 days to complete the piling for a single groyne. This is obviously dependent on weather, tides and actual working hours as described below. The shorter piles do not take long to drive as they do not penetrate too far. The noise from piling will not be continuous as between driving each pile there will be a short break whilst the piling rig is moved and set up ready to drive the next pile.
Nothing can be done to disguise the fact that pile‐driving is noisy. What can be done is to limit the contractor’s working hours ‐ as explained further on. Excavators and site trucks are noisy too but the contractor will ensure they all have adequate silencers on their exhaust systems and that they are kept well maintained. To avoid the annoying noise of reversing beepers the dump trucks moving the shingle will have them turned off and but will have radar systems fitted instead so that site safety is not compromised. This work would also be subject to restrictions with respect to maximum noise levels (75 decibels for continuous, 85 decibels at peak).
Traffic
Any construction project means an increase in traffic. Materials have to be delivered, workers arrive at the start of each day and leave at the end of their shift and heavy machinery is needed.
Parking
All machinery will be stored at the site compound compound which will prevent any added pressure on parking.
Working Hours
Coming up with a set of contractor’s working hours is a difficult balancing act between residents who want to get a night’s sleep undisturbed by construction work and the contractor who needs to get on with a job which is restricted by the tides.
Construction work generally will run Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm. In order to make use of early morning low tides the contractor will be allowed to get ready for piling before 7am but the hammer must not start until then. The contractor can ask to extend these working hours if they are getting behind schedule. If there are extra‐high or extra‐low tides which will materially help them they may also be permitted to extend the standard hours. If weekend work is requested, standard start and finish times would apply on Saturday but the earliest start on Sundays would be 8am.
Dust
Based on our experience of similar sea defence contracts we don’t think that dust will be a problem. A lot of sawdust will be created when the piles are trimmed before having their metal points and driving rings fitted but this all takes place in a separate timber compound. Running vehicles over the beach might create some dust, especially during long hot summer periods, but in the past we have found that limiting vehicle speeds keeps the problem within bounds. Spreading it has not caused any dust problems on previous jobs.
Access
- To the Beach Huts. The access to the beach huts should never be fully blocked however during the construction works it may be unpleasant to use the beach huts. Although this is an inconvenience for frequent beach users, please bear in mind that by undertaking these works that the beach huts will benefit from a more stable beach.
- To the Boat Ramp—as part of the scheme a new boat ramp is being constructed. This will vastly improve the current access to the beach for boat users.
Your right of way is not affected.
Natural Environment
Natural England describes Kingsdown Beach as ‘a broad shingle plateau with a succession of plant communities that are influenced in their extent and composition by increasing shingle stability’. The vegetated shingle community consists of a range of interesting plants, such as sea pea, sea kale, the nationally rare rose garlic and important colonies of spider orchid and prostate oak. The special vegetated shingle is registered as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest as it is the only place in the UK to support the Bright Wave Moth.
To ensure no damage occurs to this delicate habitat, construction vehicles will be limited to manoeuvre on a designated route. This will prevent any disturbance to the vegetation.
Protection of the Foreshore
The design of the proposed groynes should avoid any potential damage to the foreshore during construction and typically they do not extend down below the toe of the beach. Foreshore damage is mainly associated with beach replenishments by barge, which in this case will not be required, and the use of tracked vehicles.
Some excavation and the use of a piling rig will be needed for groyne construction and for the removal of existing groynes within the beach. The impact on the foreshore will be minimal as the areas affected will be very localised and the foreshore will be able to recover quickly. Re‐profiling the beach will not disturb the foreshore as trucks will access the beach from a set route along the beach.
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Contact
Liam Wooltorton, Canterbury City Council: Tel: 01227 862454, email liam.wooltorton@canterbury.gov.uk
or
Keith Watson, Dover District Council: Tel: 01304 872399, email keith.watson@dover.gov.uk