Langstone Coastal Scheme approved: Vital £23.6m flood defence scheme is given the green light

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 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 Langstone area has suffered from flood events in the past, most recently in 2024, and is expected to increase in the future.

Watch the video embedded in this story to see the impact of the flooding in 2024

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