Swanage Green Seafront Stabilisation & Shore Road Enhancement Scheme

The Swanage Green Seafront Stabilisation and Enhancement Project, including Sandpit Field, Weather Station Field and the Spa beach hut area is progressing to the second stage of public engagement. The objective is to stabilise and enhance these important green seafront areas for the benefit of both the Swanage community and its visitors. Following the first round of engagement, proposals to improve pedestrian safety and accessibility on Shore Road are also being presented.

What's new for the Round 2 Engagement?

We want to hear your views on a new option and the essential option that was presented previously. In addition, following your feedback setting out concerns regarding pedestrian safety on the northern section of Shore Road (the section open to vehicular traffic), the Town Council has been working in partnership with Dorset Council Highways Team and are presenting four options for this section of Shore Road that we would like your opinion on.

Here is an update from Tina Foster about this next round of engagement for the Swanage Green Seafront Stabilisation and Enhancement project!

What did the Round 1 engagement tell us?

In Round 1, we asked your input on two proposals for the green seafront area: the Essential Scheme and the Enhanced Scheme. The feedback was almost evenly split, with the Enhanced Scheme slightly more favoured, receiving 51.1% support compared to 43.6% for the Essential Scheme. 5.3% said they didn't know.

The Enhanced Scheme, estimated at approximately £11 million is not being taken forward by the Council as an option due to affordability. The new option incorporates the elements from the Enhanced Scheme that you told us were important in the first round of engagement.

Why are these works required?

The Green Seafront is continuing to move, and works are essential to stabilise the land. Monitoring is ongoing and areas are being restricted to the public for safety reasons. For more information follow >> Why are these works required?

What is the New Option for Round 2 engagement in 2025?

In this round of engagement Swanage Town Council are seeking views and opinions on:

A new option for the Green Seafront to be considered alongside the essential option shared in the previous engagement.
Four options for the northern section of Shore Road.

The New Option

Key Features of the New Option:

Filling in Walrond Road to make a larger events space across Sandpit and Weather Station Fields. Filling in this section of road is also a cost-effective way to dispose of the spoil from the scheme and reduces the costs of moving any arisings off site and disposing of them. This provides benefits both environmentally as well as economically.
A new accessible pathway from Shore Road onto Sandpit Field, a new pathway around the Green Seafront and accessibility improvements across the site.
A new toilet block offering accessible toilets on Shore Road.
Accessible space providing a new seafront kiosk café and seating area adjacent Shore Road. See the seafront kiosk café mood board >> here
Significant planting for wildlife and biodiversity, plus more trees for shade. See the planting mood boards >> here
A secondary green space offering smaller bookable event space for families and groups with views along the coast.
Improvements and alterations to the Spa Beach Hut area including 46 new beach huts and accessible chalets, an accessible toilet for chalet users, and an improved look and feel to the area. See the mood boards for beach huts >> here
Increased seating across the site including new sculptural, stepped seating offering views across the bay. See example of sculptural seating >> here

The Essential Option

We want you to have your say on the new option and consider it with the essential option from the previous round. The Essential Option includes all stabilisation required to maintain the site in its current form.

Key Features of the Essential Option:

This option would stabilise the area and retain Sandpit Field as an events field, whilst retaining current features of the fields with greenery and stone walls.
Replacement of the planting on the beach side of the field to create an attractive, biodiverse area close to the sea.
Additional beach huts will be provided on the Spa area, in a very similar orientation and style to those that were there previously.
Battlegate toilets will be upgraded providing modern public conveniences that serve both the beach huts and the beach. Unfortunately it is not possible to include accessible toilets at Battlegate.

How much will the options cost?

The new option would cost an estimated £6.5 million. The essential scheme would be an estimated £4.5 million. The Council still cannot fund all the costs of the essential or the new scheme and is continuing to look at options and further financial information. More information on funding and finance >> here

Highways Scheme - Shore Road Options

Improvements to traffic management, along with matters regarding pedestrian safety on Shore Road were raised by the public in previous engagements for both the Green Seafront and the Swanage Seafront Masterplan. In response to this Dorset Council Highways Team has worked in partnership with Swanage Town Council and provided four options for the future of Shore Road that we would welcome your views on.

Option 1 – Full vehicular closure to public vehicles
Option 2 – One way closure – south bound traffic only
Option 3 – Two way traffic with parking removed
Option 4 – Do nothing (retain as it is)

You can view the options and supporting information for Shore Road >> here

Click on the tiles below to see the images of the proposed options. Please note, for the purpose of this engagement, options for Shore Road are displayed alongside the new option for the Green Seafront. There will be further consultations after this engagement and the schemes will be aligned based on the chosen options.

Option 1: Full vehicular closure to public vehicles	Option 2: One-way closure - south bound traffic only
Option 3: Two-way traffic with parking removed	Option 4: Do nothing (retain as it is)