A £23.6million scheme to help protect Langstone
Harbour has been given the green light - paving the
way for flood
defences to be created around 1km of the precious
coastline.
Raised earth embankments, footpaths and cycleways will be
created, alongside flood defence walls, flood gates and
alterations to the highway in the area the shape of a
horseshoe from Solent Way down to Langstone Bridge, and then
up round the coastline past both The Ship Inn and The Royal
Oak pubs.
The details of the scheme were unanimously granted planning
permission by Havant Borough Council’s planning committee
despite some concerns about the impact it will have on the
area, with councillors agreeing
that the any harm was less significant than the impact of
coastal flooding.
Councillor Jonathan Hulls, the council’s
cabinet lead for coastal, coastal communities and local
plan, “This approval takes us one monumental step closer to
safeguarding the future of Langstone and securing our
borough’s infrastructure. This is not a sudden or unvetted
proposal as the strategy to upgrade Langstone’s defences was
adopted back in 2013, and it’s a fully funded scheme.
“Tidal flood risk to Langstone is escalating due to rising
sea levels and more frequent, severe storm events. Without
this intervention, the impact on the local landscape and
character would be devastating. Existing defences are
failing due to age, leaving homes, heritage,
and vital infrastructure exposed to frequent flooding and
erosion. This approval is great news all round and I look
forward to this much needed scheme starting main
construction”
“This approval takes us one monumental step closer to
safeguarding the future of Langstone and securing our
borough’s infrastructure.
As part of this process, the council must now notify the
Secretary of State that it proposes to grant permission
based on a habitat regulation assessment. The council will
now need wait for a 21-day period, or for the Secretary of
State to notify the council that it need not wait before the
permission can officially be granted.
Scheduled for a main construction start date of April 2027,
the £23.6 million scheme will reduce the risk of coastal
flooding and erosion helping ‘to keep Langstone and Hayling
Island communities connected while supporting resilient and
thriving communities across Havant into the future’.
To kick-start the funding, Havant Borough Council awarded
the scheme £5.1 million and enabled the Coastal Partners
team to leverage other funding opportunities. December 2025
saw the Environment Agency award an additional £13.8 million
to the scheme, bringing its total contribution to £17
million. The team also secured funding of £1 million from
the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, and
£250,000 from Hampshire County Council.
The scheme is required to address the existing and future
risk of tidal flooding and coastal ‘overtopping’ affecting
Langstone village, the A3023 connecting Langstone with
Hayling Island, residential homes, community facilities and
protected heritage assets.
Coastal Partners, which has designed the new sea defences,
said the measures will provide a present-day standard of
protection equivalent to a 1 in 200-year tidal flood event,
significantly reducing the likelihood and consequences of
flooding in the area.
It has already designed the sea defences schemes across
Portsmouth and Eastoke Point on Hayling Island, including
the new-look promenade in Southsea, with Jackson Civil
Engineering appointed as the construction contractor to
carry out the works.
It said that between now and the start of main construction
people will see some enabling activities taking place such
as vegetation clearance and the safe relocation of reptiles.
Vegetation clearance will initially be limited to the areas
of vegetation that overlap with the coastal schemes
footprint and where there is potential for the presence of
reptile habitats.
This staged approach to cutting vegetation will allow
reptiles to move from these areas and enable their safe
translocation before October, prior to their hibernation
period.
Later in the year there will be wider vegetation clearance
works, as well as overnight highways works on the A3023 to
enable the contractor’s main compound to be established in
the fields north of Langstone High Street. Further updates
will follow, including details of a public engagement event
planned for September.
For more information about the scheme visit the The
Langstone Coastal Scheme website at coastalpartners.org.uk/project/langstone-coastal-defence-scheme
The News 29th June
