A barge carrying thousands of tonnes of granite from Norway has moored off the Norfolk coast as a multi-million pound project to build new sea defences at Hopton gets under way.
The barge, laden with 26,000 tonnes of rock, is stationed in the North Sea a mile off Hopton and, this morning, a smaller vessel began the task of unloading the rock close to shore.
Bourne Leisure, which owns Hopton Holiday Park, is paying about £7m for the work, which should protect Hopton cliffs and beach for years to come.
The plans to install granite groynes along the beach were put forward by Bourne after swathes of the fragile cliff were washed away in recent storms. Their bid – described as 'giving hope' to residents in the coastal community – was given a green light by planning chiefs at Great Yarmouth Borough Council last month.
The new defences will replace the rotting wooden groynes that are 'no longer fit for purpose'. They come after Bourne Leisure spent £3m on emergency defence work over the winter, placing 12,000 tonnes of rock at the foot of the cliffs to shore them up and using 20,000 tonnes of earth to repair the cliff top.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here