Southsea sea defences: Frontage 4 is almost complete but what's been done? When will it open?

The work on the seafront has been split into areas, or frontages, which are decided in order of urgency and historic value. Work on Long Curtain Moat, which is the furthest west part of the seafront and is known as Frontage 1, started in December 2020 and finished in February last year.

The next phase is Frontage 4 which involves the sea defenses around Southsea Castle between Blue Reef and the Pyramids. Work started in February 2022 and is now coming to a close, with the area due to reopen in may ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day in June.

Work on frontage 5, which is the Pyramids to South Parade Pier, began in the Autumn of last year and is due to finish winter this year. The engineers for the scheme have tried to focus on natural processes for the beach management - such as adding more shingle to the beaches to restore them, and then replace this shingle every five years. However, some frontages require more defenses, such as seawalls and boulders to create rock armour. The work is aimed to last 100 years and protect up to a meter sea level rise, which is very important for the island city.

This winter, following the reopening of frontage 5, work will begin on frontage 3 which is the stretch in front of Southsea Common. The work will involve adding rocks and steps and is aimed to be completed by the summer of 2026.

Once reopened, the Scheme will move to the final two frontages, Frontage 2 at Clarence Pier and Frontage 6 in front of Canoe lake towards Eastney, where the work will also include steps and seawalls as well as beach nourishment. Both these frontages are aimed to reopen in the winter of 2028.

The communications team also confirmed a Summer roadshow exhibition during August which will involve Q&As with engineers, communications team and possibly the architects behind the scheme. The dates for this roadshow will be released soon.