Client: East Suffolk Council
Main Contractor: MS Oakes Ltd
Contract Duration: 5 Weeks
Summary of Albion Works: Installation of 215No. 5m long and 47No. 3m long R32L Soil Nails, 220m2 of Erosion Matting and 350m2 of Rock Mesh with Stainless Steel Wire
Description of Works
This £1.6 million project to demolish and rebuild the 58 brick and concrete construction beach huts on Jubilee Parade in Lowestoft started in 2020 as part of a wider investment programme by East Suffolk Council for the beach front area.
The chalets closed in the summer of 2016 due to structural concerns with cracking to the retaining wall which forms the rear wall to the beach huts.
The works also included the construction of a new retaining wall, to prevent any further slippage and risk to the public, an additional upper terrace of beach huts to create a two-tier construction and stabilisation of the cliff face behind the chalets.
The steeply sloping vegetated cliff is bordered by the upper esplanade and the lower Jubilee Parade pedestrian walkway. The slope is up to 35° at the upper part of the cliff and it was clear that the stone balustrade at the top had subsided and rotated previously.
Main contractor MS Oakes Ltd called in Albion Drilling Group in February 2021 to stabilise and regrade the cliff face using soil nails, erosion matting and rock mesh.
215No. R32L 5m long galvanised self-drill soil nails were installed in a 1m vertical x 1m horizontal grid using sacrificial 100mm clay drill bits into the Happisburgh Glacigenic Formation.
Due to the height and steep nature of the slope, Albion used a 24tonne long reach excavator with an attached rotary percussive drill mast as well as a Marini buggy rig in places to access and install the soil nails.
47No. additional 3m long soil nails were installed to secure the stainless steel wire surrounding the perimeter of the rock mesh and erosion matting area.
The stabilisation works were completed within the anticipated time frame and on budget.