Maintenance contractor Ovendens is on site at a promenade in Margate after a section of the seawall smashed on to the beach below.
The section on the Promenade behind Turner Contemporary broke away at the end of last week.
The wall has suffered widening cracks and recent stormy weather exacerbated the damage.
A Thanet council spokesperson said: “During the recent storms, a section of the upper part of the sea wall broke away and dropped onto the beach.
“Thanet District Council produced a design to replace the missing section and Ovendens, its maintenance contractor, is currently onsite carrying out the repairs.”
I’ve got to say, the sea defences around Thanet’s 22 miles of coast are generally very well maintained. Some places are far worse.
Yes they are quite well maintained but are they up to rising sea levels?.
Fortunately, much of coastal Thanet (Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Westbrook, Westgate, Birchington, Dumpton, Cliffsend, Pegwell…) is built on cliff tops. Margate is probably the most vulnerable town.
I’ve lived in thanet for the last 70+ years and the tide comes up to the same place on Margate beach as it did 70 years ago. The damage is done by storms which occur occasionally, in my lifetime none as bad as the 1953 storm which affected a lot more than thanet.
It’s a pity it didn’t take the turner center With it
Oh. ye of little Culture But yes the town would have been better served with a new pier But. who listened ! NOT Thanet district council for sure
Arts Council England and SEEDA would not use their money for a pier. It is ring fenced for Arts. The choice was gallery or no gallery for Margate.
Centre, in Britain.
Why is it a pity it didn’t take the Turner Contemporary with it?
It would’ve made a fascinating art exhibition, successfully combining Margate’s traditional seaside heritage with its newer artistic regeneration.
🤣👍
if the turner centre fell into the sea they would probably market it as art exhibition
Rising sea levels are not a problem as it goes back down at low tide..
“Rising sea levels” refers to the mean sea level.
In the UK, there are two issues:
During the last Ice Age, vast masses of ice pushing down on Scotland caused the south of England to rise up by tens of metres (a bit like if you put a brick on the end of a floating plank .. the other end pokes up a bit). Now the ice has gone, the south of the country is slowly sinking back into the sea (several mm a year). It’s called “isostacy”.
The other effect is due to global warming.This is causing the huge ice caps on Greenland and Antarctica to melt, causing world wide sea levels to rise. If there was catastrophic failure of the ice caps, the oceans could rise by 10s of metres.
Not a good sign that the firm to do repair work could still be under investigation by Health & Safety Inspectors. Previous work undertaken on Walpole Bay tidal pool required company to open sluice gate without checking for swimmers in pool.
A woman was seriously injured after being pulled out from the tidal pool through a sluice gate and into the sea.
The woman was taken to hospital following the incident which happened at the Walpole Bay tidal pool near Margate this morning (September 28).
Was that the woman who ignored all the warning signs, telling people not to use the pool?
That’ll be the one and apparently the whole thing was seen by a TDC councillor who did’nt intervene.But unfortunately in this day and age stupidity abounds and contractors are meant to appreciate the fact.
Slight change of theme! Why does the Promenade end at the West Bay in Westgate, then start again after Epple Bay in Birchington. It seems a bit “silly” to leave such a short gap that is there now.
Walkers and cyclists ‘could’ go from Palm bay to Reculver, without dismounting, or climbing Epple Bay stairs.
if you read the news online – a ” lady ” named janet district council said that thanet is due to become the gay centre of kent ? how does that stand with the arts and culture mob.
I suspect it (or at least Margate) already is. No big deal.
Don’t worry Real World – I think it will soon be compulsory to become gay or queer.
Not so very long ago, these were terms of derision or ridicule and deemed offensive – now they are encouraged.
Is it any wonder that some of us get confused ?
Is John’s comment supposed to be funny?
Your comments often amuse me Ms. Rees.
What would life be like without arts and culture?
Or shops and toilets?
Part of the wall/capping at Broadstairs pier car park was brought down due to the pounding waves last week as well. The winds are much more stronger in the last few years and are in turn whipping the sea up so waves are higher stronger with the wind and are crashing down with more velocity, these old capping/copping stones can only take so much force before damage is inevitable, a lot of thanet as Peter said and was reported by the Isle of Thanet News has high cliffs around it I hate to say this but these to can succumb to the pounding we have and will be getting as our weather forecasters are saying we will be getting more of as weather patterns are changing mainly due to climate change.
Fortunately, chalk is relatively stable. In the late 70s I lived in Warden on Sheppey, where they have a huge problem with mud slides on the clay cliffs (I can still recall the post office and stores being quickly abandoned due to erosion, and they’ve lost at least 2 churches over the centuries!).
Probably the worst part of Thanet for erosion are the cliffs at both Pegwell Bay and Botany Bay, none of which have any sea defences to protect them.
But you’ve just said “Fortunately, chalk is relatively stable . .”.
Make your mind up.
The key word there is “relatively” (i.e., in comparison to clay or sandstone). Look it up.
Peter agreed chalk is relatively stable which is why you just need to be extra careful when walking around our cliffs as I understand it we have not had a big fall of chalk for a few years (not 100 %sure though), I think we may get a bit of a crowd of visitors this weekend as temperature could reach the mid 20s centigrade or 70s Fahrenheit not bad for Easter,if it is hopefully our traders will have a good start to season, and visitors to the beaches be they local or distant respect our beaches and other visitors.
Clay and Sandstone are about as similar as chalk and, err cheese.
Chalk is a weak rock. Where there are no sea defences, there are large rock falls.
I looked it up:
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2020/10/02/rock-fall-at-kingsgate-bay/
Land slips tend not to happen with chalk, unlike clay.
Your point being what?
There are no clay exposures round Thanet. The is plenty of chalk, however. And where there are no sea defences, the chalk will come down.
Not as fast as clay.
And without land slips.
End.
Of.
Conversation.
I don’t think it’s up to you to determine when a conversation begins or ends.