Wyre Beach Management Scheme at Cleveleys

This is a major £40m coastal defence project, funded by DEFRA. The completed works to construct rock armour protection and new rock groynes will better protect 11,000 properties and infrastructure against flooding and erosion. Wyre Council is delivering the Wyre Beach Management Scheme at Cleveleys, in partnership with Balfour Beatty and the Environment Agency.

All about the Wyre Beach Management Scheme, at Cleveleys and Fleetwood, here

• Phase One works first saw the construction of the works compound at Jubilee Gardens. Then construction of rock armour toe protection at Rossall Beach, Cleveleys.

• Phase Two works at Cleveleys involve the construction of rock groynes from Kingsway (the Wyre boundary with Blackpool). The new groyne field extends to the recently completed Rossall Coastal Defence Scheme at Westway, Fleetwood.
• Phase two also includes toe protection and groynes at Fleetwood. This begins at the north end of the Rossall Coastal Defence Scheme and continues to the boating lakes at the seafront. There’s a satellite compound for this part of the works, at the Sea Cadets car park.

Cleveleys Beach Works Videos

We do love a bit of civil engineering here at Visit Fylde Coast! So we’re really excited to be working with the team on this project. We share information and updates in various ways, one of which is a series of beach works videos.

Check out the Visit Fylde Coast YouTube channel – for hundreds of films on all kinds of subjects – organised into playlists. Including this one for all the beach works videos –

Enjoyed this video? Why don’t you subscribe to our Visit Fylde Coast YouTube channel – make sure you don’t miss out!

Want to know more about the scheme? Don’t forget you can call into The Venue on Thursday mornings between 9am and 12 noon to speak to Jane Littlewood, Public Liaison Officer for the scheme. Jane is available to answer any questions or concerns you have regarding the project. Email jane@therabbitpatch.co.uk or phone 07932 143431. 

Updates from the Wyre Beach Management Scheme at Cleveleys

Most recent updates at the top…

April 2026 – Last Rock Placed at Cleveleys Marks Major Milestone 

A landmark moment has been reached at Cleveleys, with the final rock placed on the beach at the end of April 2026.

The completion of this stage of works represents a significant step forward in strengthening Wyre’s coastal defences. Improved protection is now delivered to more than 11,000 households across the borough. 

Councillor Roger Berry is Neighbourhood Services and Community Safety Portfolio Holder at Wyre Council. Praised the collaboration that’s made the project such a success, he said:

“This scheme shows what can be achieved through a fantastic partnership between Wyre Council, Balfour Beatty and their subcontractors Ovenden’s and Barrett’s. Together, they have delivered a high-quality coastal protection scheme that safeguards homes and businesses. It’s been completed ahead of programme and below cost, and creates the platform for further improvements along the seafront.” 

The works at Cleveleys form part of a wider programme of beach and promenade improvements. These include enhancements to footpaths and access along Rossall Beach. It’s all helping to make the coastline more resilient, accessible and welcoming for residents and visitors alike. 

Completing the Works

Now the beach management works are substantially complete, the focus can turn to the next stage of regeneration along the seafront. Including planned improvements at Jubilee Gardens, which sits at the heart of Cleveleys. 

Full details of what happens next at Jubilee Gardens can be found here. In short, Wyre Council has pledged to get the park open again, making improvements thereafter in stages.

Together, the completion of the beach management works and the progression of the Jubilee Gardens Masterplan underline Wyre Council’s long-term commitment to protecting its coastline while investing in high-quality public spaces that support wellbeing, tourism and regeneration. 

Sept 2025 – Working at Rossall Beach

As autumn and winter approach, the remaining works to completion of the project are all taking place at Rossall Beach, Cleveleys. Construction of concrete cross-over ramps continues and rock placement to form the finished design.

There is still remaining work to be completed on the beach in front of Rossall School and the Tank Traps. This will see the project to conclusion with works expected to be completed by June 2026.

Find the Ogre!

Wondering where the Ogre has gone? He’s still exactly where he was! The difference now is that he’s circled by an exciting new maze of stones. Perfect exploration territory for young and old, with our friendly giant revealed in the centre!

1 May 2025 – Bathing Water Season Begins

With the bathing water season underway from 1 May, building work moved to Rossall Beach where a number of groynes are still to be built. They will connect the crossover ramps with the toe protection installed months ago at the start of the works. Together, these rocks will form bays which reduce the turbulence of the sea, allowing beach levels to rise and become more stable.

The works fronting the stepped sea wall between the Wyre/Blackpool boundary at Kingsway and the cafe are now completed. You can see how the groynes are starting to work as intended. Sand and beach material is building up against them so they look less prominent. During windy weather and high tides the waves travel even less distance up the stepped sea wall, reducing the risk of overtopping.

Early 2025 – Rock Works Resume at Cleveleys

With works at Fleetwood beach complete, the rock team resume their activities at Cleveleys. During winter, works concentrate on the main section of Cleveleys beach, adjacent to the steps. Construction work is focussed on the groynes furthest away from the compound at Jubilee Gardens. This way the equipment leaves a route for itself to travel along the beach back to base.

Did you notice the machine with the huge drill bit attached? Working opposite The Venue car park it spent a couple of weeks carving indentations into big rocks. These are going to be new rock pools. The indentations will hold water when the tide goes out, allowing intertidal plants and animals to thrive.

Did you notice a huge pile of stones in a platform type arrangement next to the cafe? (And a similar one near the Five Bar Gate?) This was the smaller underlayer rock which came out of the old groynes. The new groynes just use large rocks so this material is surplus to requirements. It was stored in two stockpiles prior to being removed and taken off site.

Reinstatement gets underway at Fleetwood to return the compound area into a recreation field. It’s being put back as it was, with the advantage of a resurfaced car park!

August 2024 – Concrete Works Resume

From 12 August concrete works re-commence again at Cleveleys with works taking place around the Tank Trap area and Rossall Beach. The teams will be working from the Jubilee Gardens compound.

Rock deliveries and placement continues at the Rossall compound and site.

Summer 2024 – works move to Fleetwood

There’s a break from construction work at Cleveleys beach for the summer period during the bathing water season. Meanwhile the teams moved around the coast to work at the Fleetwood end of the Wyre Beach Management Project.

January 2024 – The beach becomes a building site!

Lots of people have commented on social media that the beach at Cleveleys ‘looks a mess’! That’s because there’s a major piece of civil engineering work underway! Numerous large piles of rocks are just that – rocks in storage. They’re for the groynes – which are considerably narrower, shorter and flatter than the heaps! As they say you can’t make an omelette without breaking an egg. This is important work which will stabilise the beach for years to come.

Depending on your point of view, you might find it fascinating (we do!) Watching the operators of these huge machines carry out quite fine movements is captivating. It’s fascinating to see how they build exactly what they should and where they should. Interested in the details? There’s a full explanation here – all about the Wyre Beach Management Scheme, at Cleveleys and Fleetwood

November 2023 – Set up of Fleetwood Site Begins

The Fleetwood section of this project will take place from the north end of the completed seawall at the golf course. It goes around the tip of Rossall Point, past the Tower to the Sea Cadets car park. On it’s own that’s a considerable amount of work and rock. Set-up of the smaller Fleetwood compound began in November 2023.

• Latest updates about the Fleetwood section of the Wyre Beach Management Scheme here

Fire on Bonfire Night 2023

On the evening of Bonfire night, 5 November 2023, the beach works compound at Jubilee Gardens went up in flames. Whipping easily 20 feet up into the air, the fire was at the rear of the compound, engulfing the back fence.

Afterwards it became clear that a roll of geotextile membrane had ignited along with the wooden fence. It looked a whole lot worse than it was – thankfully the 50t dumper trucks were largely unscathed. With a few new tyres and repairs they were back on the beach within a couple of days.

September 2023 – New Wall Sections at Rossall Promenade

In mid September 2023 another part of the project began. There’s now a new short wall along the car parking area at Rossall Promenade. Various options were explored in an effort to improve the walkway and aesthetic of the popular area. The final design is precast units, set in front of the existing.

With the road closed for a few weeks during the works, the memorial benches were first removed. With them safely stored at Jubilee Gardens compound the building work could begin. A channel was cut into the existing footpath adjacent to the wall. Then the new concrete units dropped into it, against the existing low sea wall. With the gaps grouted and the work complete, benches and street furniture were all replaced.

This is mostly cosmetic but will have some effect on reducing overtopping. It’s about two feet higher than the existing wall and only covers the area from the hump in the road to the Five Bar Gate. This element of the project was complete by Christmas 2023.

July 2023 – Phase Two Works Begin

• Phase Two works (new rock groynes and crossover ramps) will take place between July 2023 and October 2026.

With placement of rocks for the Phase 1 toe protection works completed during June 2023, it’s time for the project team to begin working on Phase 2 – the new rock groynes. These will extend from the Wyre boundary with Blackpool, adjacent to the Shipwreck Memorial, to the Rossall Coastal Defence Scheme at Westway. Similar work to install toe revetment and new groynes will also happen from the end of the Rossall scheme, around the curve of Rossall Point.

There was a pause in rock deliveries during June/July. During this time remedial and improvement works took place at Jubilee Gardens compound to enable easier handling and storing of rocks. This was in advance of deliveries starting again in early July.

Ramps, groynes and marker poles

Some groynes have a tall metal marker pole at the end which indicate the presence of an underwater obstruction. Rocks are placed from the pole (or equivalent point) to join up with the west side of each crossover ramp. Each groyne includes a crossover ramp, cast in situ on the beach. They’re similar to those installed at the nearby Rossall Scheme. These will allow safe up-and-over access across the groyne for walkers and beach users. The groyne continues from the east side of each ramp to meet either the steps or the toe protection.

• Find out how ramps, groynes and marker poles are built
• Latest photos: Take a look at Visit Cleveleys on Facebook for regular photo updates.

Summer 2023 – Bird Nesting in a Building Site!

There’s often concern as to how the presence of large machinery will affect bird populations, especially during nesting season. Ironically, it seems to have a positive influence! One little Ringed Plover decided that the large trucks would be good neighbours when it built a nest just a few feet from their roadway.

Spotted by the eagle-eyed workmen they gave it its own exclusion zone with some barriers and tape and it successfully fledged its chicks!

March 2023 – Phase One Works Begin

Phase One beach works is the rock scour protection parallel to the wall at Rossall Beach. Works on site began from 6 March 2023, taking place to the end of June 2023.

Working in small sections, the excavator dug out the beach, a strong geotextile membrane laid in the bottom of the hole and rocks positioned on top. This combination protects the ‘toe’ of the old sea wall with rock and beach material. To cover the rocks and voids until winter tides and rain could naturally settle it all in, sand and shingle was pushed up the beach. Several bad storms in quick succession during late 2023 have done that, and a lot of the backfill has washed away. Once the completed groynes are in place and the beach works finished, the levels will build up naturally.

Half a Stonehenge!

Have you spotted the mysterious half a circle of stones, adjacent to the end of Thornton Gate? There’s a clear, curved roadway marked out – this is because of the high-voltage electricity cable under the beach. It delivers electricity from the offshore windfarm to shore. To protect the cable and it’s concrete casing, heavy traffic is only allowed to cross it in certain places.

September 2022 – Site and Compound Set-Up Begins

Work officially began on site at Cleveleys on Monday 5 September 2022. However, there was very little activity during the first week – mainly measuring up, setting out and site investigation.

• Works to build the site compound and rock storage area took place in Jubilee Gardens until the end of January 2023.

• Widening the beach access ramp enables the large machinery to use it. Those works were ongoing until mid November 2022.
• A section of highway between Jubilee Gardens and the beach access also had to be rebuilt, using strengthened concrete. A new haul road was also built, from Jubilee Gardens to the beach. These works required a full road closure, between November 2022 and the end of January 2023.
• To keep pedestrians and drivers safe, a series of gates and traffic lights cover the crossing point. Permanently on green, the lights switch to red when machinery needs to cross from the park to beach.

June 2021 – Site Investigations for upcoming Beach Works at Cleveleys

Over eight weeks from the start of June 2021, strange looking things were happening on Cleveleys beach!

Working from a small site compound between the Five Bar Gate and Tank Traps at Rossall School, engineers were looking at just what’s under the beach. They dug some deep holes, and also used a very clever truck! They were investigating from the Shipwreck Memorial at the boundary with Blackpool, to Marine Lake at Fleetwood.

We caught the truck on Rossall Beach at Cleveleys on Friday 11 June.

Enjoyed this video? Why don’t you subscribe to our Visit Fylde Coast YouTube channel – make sure you don’t miss out!

Trial holes and CPTs

Ground conditions vary a lot along the length of the coast. Before they can design appropriate structures, engineers first need to know what’s under the ground.

• Trial holes were dug at the toe of the existing sea defences. This allows the team to physically look at what’s underground, and to measure, plot and record any structures which they find near to the sea wall.
• Further towards the sea, Cone Penetration Tests – or CPTs – were done. The self-contained tracked-truck travels along the beach with all the clever equipment onboard. The caterpillar tracks make sure that it doesn’t damage the beach it travels along.

Inside the truck, a rod pushes a cone with a sensitive tip vertically into the beach, measuring the resistance as it goes. The beauty of this type of investigation is that the beach doesn’t have to be disturbed. The resistance encountered by the rod tells engineers what the ground is likely to be made of. Its measurements were no further than 100 metres away from the sea wall.

Sep 2020 – Site Investigations

At the end of August 2020, contractors Balfour Beatty set up a small compound towards the dead-end of Rossall Promenade. Using it as a base for equipment, they carried out site investigations on the beach.

The investigations involve digging holes at the top of the beach. And the purpose of it is to reveal and map the base of the existing sea wall. During these works, the end of the concrete sea wall (the ‘toe’) will be located and surveyed. They’ll be recording information about –

• the buried part of the sea wall,
• the original construction method
• details of concrete depth
• what ground conditions are like at this depth

Engineers need all of this information to do the detailed design of this section of beach management structures. We took a look into the hole they were digging –

Enjoyed this video? Why don’t you subscribe to our Visit Fylde Coast YouTube channel – make sure you don’t miss out!

Protecting Beach Wildlife

While it’s important to protect against flooding, it’s also important to protect beach wildlife. Investigations and works are all carried out in full compliance with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) licence.

Bird surveys were carried out all along the Wyre coastline during 2021 by an RSPB recommended Ornithologist. He’s primarily carrying out the survey to inform the Environmental Impact Assessment that will support the planning application for the wider Beach Management Scheme. But he’s keeping the team informed of any nesting sites he comes across. Engineers then know which areas to avoid.

• Carried out in the intertidal zone, Cone Penetration Tests (CPT’s) were away from nesting areas.
• The excavators that are carrying out the trial hole works are also generally tracking along the beach in the intertidal zone, away from any nesting sites.
• A check is made for nesting birds before work begins. One of the engineers found a nest during one of these inspections the morning of 15^th June 2021 and directed the machines away from the nest. The team will go out of their way to avoid impacting any nesting sites.

Jan 2020 – Public Consultation

Consultation sessions took place over a week in January 2020. Giving people a chance to see the proposed plans and discuss the scheme.

The Wyre Council iBus drove to various locations in Cleveleys and Fleetwood. There, officers were on hand to speak to people and answer questions. Plans and information were also on display, explaining what the works might involve.