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Promenade to shut until 2026 for sea defence work

Southsea Coastal Scheme Artist's conception with sea and beach on the right moving up to large boulders and a raised promenade with a naval war memorial on a grassed areaSouthsea Coastal Scheme
The defences are being built along a 4.5km (2.8-mile) of coast

The next phase of work on a coastal defence scheme will see a stretch of promenade closed until summer 2026.

The area off Southsea Common between Blue Reef Aquarium and the Hovertravel terminal in Hampshire will shut from 21 October.

The closure comes in the day after Portsmouth's Great South Run.

Traffic will be diverted along Clarence Parade and a new temporary tarmac footpath will be created across the seafront common.

Southsea Coastal Scheme Graphic maps showing sea to left and closed area along the promenade with green common area behindSouthsea Coastal Scheme
The promenade from the aquarium to the hovercraft terminal will shut from 21 October to summer 2026

The promenade closure will not cut access to the Naval War Memorial.

Coastal defences around Southsea Castle have been completed and the area was reopened to the public in May.

The £180m Southsea Coastal Scheme, includes building walls, raising land and widening beaches along a 4.5km (2.8 mile) stretch of coastline.

As one of the UK's lowest lying cities, Portsmouth is particularly vulnerable to flooding as sea levels rise.

The six-phase project, which started in September 2020 to reduce the risk of severe flooding, is due to be completed in 2028.

The first phase of the defence works saw a new promenade constructed alongside Southsea Castle

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