Strategy News and Updates

More than 60 members of the public tuned in last night to hear the Strategy Team respond to a range of pre-submitted questions about the ongoing coastal strategy. The virtual engagement session was part of the team’s commitment to transparency and community involvement, offering residents a chance to raise concerns and seek clarity on technical and strategic decisions.

Questions submitted in advance reflected a wide spectrum of public interest, from environmental impact to engineering choices. Among the topics covered were, community involvement in project design, use of rock revetment along the Spit, use alternative solutions like Geotubes, strategy costs and more

The session concluded with a reaffirmation of the team’s commitment to ongoing dialogue. The PowerPoint slides from the webinar available to view here and to watch the recording please visit the Strategy Engagement webpage and videos section.

New Forest District Council is undertaking maintenance work at Hurst Spit. A volume of shingle material will be moved from naturally accreting areas of Hurst Spit to the narrow, eroded sections. This will restore the crest width, thus improving the spit’s ability to provide flood and erosion protection for Keyhaven and surrounding areas. The works will start on 2 October and take approximately 2-3 weeks. For more info please view Hurst Spit Shingle Recycling or email coastal.team@nfdc.gov.uk.

New Forest District Council have secured external funding from the Southern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to support beach recycling works at Hurst Spit, along with conditional approval from Natural England. Works are expected to begin October 2025. For more info visit: Securing funding for Hurst Spit beach recycling works - New Forest District Council.

Last week diggers arrived to clear a blocked outfall on the embankment at Fishtail Lagoon. Two duck bill valves have been installed on the outfall, which will improve drainage by keeping the outfall clearer for longer, duck bill valves are much better at clearing debris by themselves than standard flap valves. The Operations Team will be monitoring the performance over the next year and carrying out similar works nearby to improve drainage and fish passage. This vital work will restore drainage to the protected SSSI marshes.

Alan Lovell, Environment Agency Chair, Phil Lodge, Director of Operations and RFCC chair Martin Hurst visited the Hurst Spit and Lymington Strategy area to hear about the draft proposals on 16 June.

The visit included Hurst Spit to observe how the natural barrier is expected to evolve over time, exploring one of the coastal lagoons to gain insight into the Strategy’s environmental aspects and much discussion on the challenges of the stretch of coastline.

Alan said: “Seeing this coastline first-hand brings alive the challenges we face in protecting it. The strategy represents our commitment to developing solutions that work with natural processes while safeguarding homes, businesses and the environment that makes this area so special”.

In the afternoon, Alan met members of the Save Lymington and Keyhaven group (SLAK) to discuss their concerns.

Following feedback from the public exhibitions held in the Autumn on the Draft Pathways, we are starting fortnightly community drop-ins at venues in Milford on Sea and Lymington starting Wednesday 7 May.

Team members will be on hand to answer any queries or clarifications relating to the Strategy, or just pop in and say hello and meet the team, the more the merrier! All sessions 10am-1pm, no appointment necessary.

Please help us spread the word, email the team for hard copies or click the link to download a poster to share. Hope to see you soon.

Keyhaven Land Purchase

The Environment Agency has recently purchased over 160 hectares of land around the village of Keyhaven, a key location for enabling the creation of new coastal habitats and grazing marshes. The land forms part of the wider Kingwell (Aubrey) Limited Natural Capital Scheme.

The purchase of the land meets a key part of the Environment Agency’s Habitat Compensation Restoration Programme that covers Hampshire and Sussex. The aim is that the Keyhaven area will gradually transition from a predominantly arable farming landscape to one that benefits from an extensive area of managed habitat creation through a combination of the habitat compensation work and the Natural Capital Scheme.

The site will remain in some form of agricultural use for at least five years and the Environment Agency continue to work closely with Kingwell and project partners including the Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy team to ensure the best outcomes for residents and wildlife. Please refer to frequently asked questions for more information.

Throughout November the team shared the draft proposals for the coastline at a series of in person and online events, we have received lots of feedback on the Draft Pathways and have been working through all your emails and responses.

The team have also been approached by the Save Lymington and Keyhaven (SLAK) Group and recently met with representatives to listen to their concerns, colleagues will be meeting with them again in March. The team continue to take on board comments and hope as the Strategy progresses, further information will help alleviate concerns raised.

We are keen to reiterate the pathways are still draft and continue to welcome the views of local communities and interested groups ahead of a full public consultation in summer 2026.

First year Reading University students heard first hand about the Hurst Spit to Lymington Strategy yesterday. The 110 Geography and Environmental Science students were in Lymington to study the lagoons and flood defences as part of a 3 day field trip in the area, it was good to hear their views about the Strategy.

Over 180 local residents have attended the exhibitions to date to view the proposals for the coastline. There is still time to call in and speak to the team with two more events on Friday 22nd, 12:30-4:30pm at All Saints Church and Tuesday 26th, 10am-3pm at the Lymington Masonic Hall.

Throughout the month of November, the Strategy Team are holding a number of roaming public exhibitions in the Strategy area, this will be an opportunity to present the Draft Pathways for each of the nine Management Units to local residents and groups.

Call in to speak to the Team about the proposals, there is also an online presentation session.

For more information or to register for the online session, please email hurstspit2lymington@environment-agency.gov.uk