Bray coastal protection scheme consists of three phases. Phase 1 consisted of the construction of a rock groyne and breakwater and was completed in July 1999 at a cost of £1,839,446.20, including VAT. Phase II consisted of the placing of beach nourishment on Bray beach and was completed in January 2001 at a cost of £2,286,493.32, including VAT. Phase III consists of repair and remedial work to south pier wall at Bray Harbour and is currently in progress at a contract cost of £973,190.93, including VAT.
Planning permission was received for the placing of a total volume of 250,000mf7>3 of sand and gravel on Bray beach. In the event, a total volume of 234,767mf7>3 was placed on the beach. I am advised by the engineering staff who worked on this project that ceasing filling at the exact limit of the planning permission would have left a discontinuity on the beach surface which would have been a public safety hazard. In addition, the realities of beach engineering are such that stopping work of this nature at a particular artificial line is extremely difficult because of the dynamic nature of beach sediment and the manner in which the nourishment material is placed, that is, as a pumped mixture of water and gravel. For safety and technical reasons therefore an engineering decision was made while the contractor was still on site to rework material at the southern limit of the works to merge smoothly into the existing beach material and this work of necessity took place on the area of foreshore south of the bandstand beyond the technical parameter for which planning permission was received. There were no cost implications for the project.