In response to public demand, engineering reports monitoring the ground movement of a subsiding section of Swanage’s seafront have been released, along with a document detailing the best method to halt the land slippage.
Sandpit Field, the Weather Station Field and the Spa beach hut terrace, which run parallel to Shore Road and the seafront, provide green open spaces for events like the Swanage Carnival and for people to relax away from the beach, but technical surveys commissioned by Swanage Town Council since 2022, show that future use of the area is in doubt.
The Green Seafront is a valuable asset to Swanage providing space for events and leisure activities but engineers monitoring the area conclude that the ground is unstable and slipping down the slope
Significant concern
Following a public consultation about million pound proposals to stabilise what is often called the Green Seafront, some residents were keen to see detailed proof that the work was necessary.
Two proposals – a basic scheme costing £4.5 million and an enhanced scheme costing £6.5 million – were presented to local residents, with more favouring the more expensive scheme by a small margin.
However the survey results also revealed there was significant concern around the cost of the work and scepticism about the stabilisation process.
Cracks have appeared in walls as the earth movement has pushed against them
Beach huts have been removed from the Spa area due to safety concerns
55 defects identified
Now Swanage Town Council has published a ground stabilisation feasibility study completed in September 2022 by engineering consultancy WSP, plus regular monitoring reports throughout 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The reports detail the areas experiencing ongoing ground movement and slope instability, with 55 defects identified. WSP concludes that cracks in retaining walls and the uneven ground are putting the safety, usability, and long-term future of these spaces at risk.
In addition, a second opinion was sought by Swanage Town Council, on the best way to stabilise the slopes. It commissioned a report by ground engineers Heidelberg Materials to assess the best method to use.
It looked at slope regrading, a process to reshape the surface of a slope to enhance stability, and at sheet piling, interlocking sheets of steel that are driven into the ground forming a continuous wall that retains soil.
Cracked pathways have been patched up but now a long term solution is being sought
Soil nailing recommended approach
However the report concluded that soil nailing – driving 20 metre long steel bars or pins down into the ground – was its recommended approach for this project, backing up the WSP reports which came to the same conclusion.
The Heidelberg Materials report said:
“Soil nails are an accepted solution for slope stabilisation and can have double corrosion protection designed to achieve 100-year design life, or stainless steel nails and components in exceptional circumstances, while sheet piles without additional measures, typically, continuous cathodic protection will rust over time.
“The slope appears to be moving partially due to increasing groundwater pressures from the existing drainage failing. A soil nailed solution including the installation of sub horizontal drains would mitigate this and still be cost effective
“In terms of installation, the soil nails require smaller rigs, which have a smaller impact to the slope and require smaller working platforms improving the cost-effectiveness of the solution.”
At the Swanage Town Council meeting on Monday 15th December 2025 it was reported to councillors that all the technical engineering information had been published on its website and it would be added to over time as more reports were received.
No decision has been made on which of the two Green Seafront schemes to go for. Final designs will be subject to formal consultation, including obtaining planning permission. Stabilisation works are still expected to begin in autumn 2027.
Further information
- Read all the engineering reports
- More about the two proposed Green Seafront schemes
