Stoke Lake flood defences: Work in Gosport to resume as Environment Agency picks up bill for spiralling costs
Sea defence work will restart after a multimillion-pound hole in the budget has been filled
Work on Gosport’s stalled sea defence scheme is set to restart after the Environment Agency agreed to plug a multimillion‑pound funding gap.
The cost of the Alverstoke coastal defence scheme has now rocketed to £8.7m, but the cash boost from the Environment Agency has spared taxpayers from picking up the bill.
Work on the scheme was halted in 2022 when the discovery of buried high‑voltage cables, increasing material prices, and supply problems pushed the forecast cost beyond the original £1.1m budget.
Since then, the site has been reinstated and reopened while the council and its partners hunted for extra cash.
The scheme outlines plans to build new coastal defences to reduce the risk of flooding to 130 properties.
Gosport Borough Council said the need for the work was underlined on April 8, 2024, when Storm Pierrick brought an exceptionally high tide that flooded around 65 homes and five commercial properties. This forced overnight evacuations and wrote off many vehicles.
The Community and Environment Board at the council will be asked next week to sign off on the resumption of the work.
The council described it as a “large and complex” project, explaining that “costs changed as works developed”.
A spokesperson from the local authority said: “The council has been working closely with the Environment Agency over a long period to address this. Together, we have secured extra funding to make sure the scheme can continue.
“We welcome the additional £7.6m. This funding is essential to help protect homes, infrastructure, and the local community from coastal flooding. Securing funding of this size takes time, but it shows the strong partnership between the council and the Environment Agency.”
The scheme will reduce the flood risk to 121 residential and nine commercial properties, according to council documents.
Running the new sea gate and keeping it in good working order for the next 50 years is expected to cost approximately £111,800. This is mainly for opening it during extreme tides and replacing worn parts.
If the restart is signed off on June 17, officers expect it will take about three years to get the scheme built, with completion expected by the end of 2029.
A renewed public engagement drive is planned to “reconnect” with residents after the earlier pause, with updated information on the design, new planning application and timetable, plus regular updates as work progresses.