WORK to limit flood risk to the Broads from the coast between Happisburgh and Winterton is progressing well and recharging the beach with sand begins on Monday .

WORK to limit flood risk to the Broads from the coast between Happisburgh and Winterton is progressing well and recharging the beach with sand begins on Monday .

Three out of the nine new rock groynes have been finished with rocks brought in by sea from Norway on a 20,000 tonne barge. They replace existing timber and steel groynes between Horsey and Winterton Ness Gap.

Other parts of the £8.8m scheme by the Environment Agency involve recharging the beach with 360,000m3 of sand between Sea Palling and Poplar Farm Gap, reconstruction of a 275m long section of rock which protects the sea wall at Eccles and 25,000m3 of sand relocation.

The project is a direct result of the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) for the area, which recommended that along the coast from Eccles to Winterton the line of existing flood defences should be held until at least the medium term - the next 50 years - and will be completed by early January 2009.

The new groynes will add to a series of offshore reefs constructed around the site in 1993 and 1997 to protect the most vulnerable areas and bring protection to 500 houses and 1,256 hectares of Broadland designated sites. The work will reduce the risk of flooding to the Broads from the sea.

Mark Johnson, The Environment Agency's area flood risk manager said: “I'm sure people who live in, work in or visit this area will be pleased to hear that the scheme is going ahead. The Shoreline Management Plan for the area states that we should hold the line of existing sea defences for at least the next 50 years and that is exactly what we're doing.”

A second phase for the scheme is intended to go ahead in 2011 to provide further beach recharge if necessary.