Strandhill, one of Sligo’s main tourism destinations, is set for coastal erosion works to ensure that defences at the seaside village are “not outflanked by wave action during extreme storm events”.
The emergency measures will seek to enhance coastal defences until planning and consents are in place for a long-term permanent solution.
A council report on the short-term emergency works scheme said, without these works, there is a risk that coastal erosion would result in the “permanent loss of hinterland”.
The report said while frequent maintenance of coastal defences in Strandhill have held in good stead, other shoreline areas have seen increasing erosion, in recent years.
The emergency works involve placing of 2,500 tonnes of rock armour onto a 90-metre section of the upper foreshore above the high-water mark on Strandhill promenade.
The rock armour will be placed on geotextile matting, that will be buried at least 1 metre below the beach and it is set to extend from the existing revetment.
The council report acknowledged that it is important to note that it will be “a dynamic structure, which may experience movement during extreme storm events”.
Submissions provided during a public consultation, expressed support for emergency works – one resident describing it as “necessary, proportionate and overdue”.
The Strandhill Community Development Association Coastal Erosion Sub-Committee said the works were about much more than protecting a 90-metre section of coastline, adding that it would protect “the people, businesses and public infrastructure”.
They acknowledged while “emergency works are not the final solution,” that it was “an important first phase” of a Coastal Flooding and Erosion Risk Management strategy.