Regeneration Begins With Barges

Two massive barges have been anchored off the Northumberland coastline as work gets underway on a pounds 10m maritime engineering project which will transform a seaside village.

The vessels are being used to carry out seabed surveys and have begun laying the foundations for a 200m-long breakwater which will be built in Newbiggin Bay over the next few months.

They are part of a fleet of barges and ships which will be bringing construction materials, vital equipment and personnel to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea from Norway and Bournemouth. The Defra-funded project involves a new breakwater to protect the village from the ravages of the sea.

The project will see 500,000 tonnes of sand imported to restore the lost beach.

The sand will be pumped ashore via an underwater pipeline from the dredger Oranje which will ship it from the Lincolnshire coastline off Skegness.

Barges are bringing more than 40,000 tonnes of quarried rock across the North Sea from Norway to form the core of the new breakwater being built 300m offshore.

Work has already started at Battleship Wharf next to the River Blyth on building huge, inter-locking concrete blocks that will also form a key part of the new sea defence wall.

The summer-long project is believed to be the first of its kind ever carried out in the North-East.

It aims to provide Newbiggin with enhanced protection from the sea and boost its appeal as a visitor attraction.

Yesterday a Wansbeck Council spokesman said: “The two barges which have moved into the bay are quite a sight and there have been crowds of people out watching them.”

(c) 2007 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.