South Wales Echo

It’s ta-ta to the Tarmac beach as demolition starts

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IT MAY not be the most picturesqu­e beach in the world but it’s been a feature of a popular seaside town for decades.

Attracting dog walkers, sun bathers, people looking for somewhere to eat their fish and chips and children chasing waves, it has become woven into Porthcawl’s fabric.

A £3m project has begun which will see the loss of the infamous “Tarmac beach”.

Also known as the town beach and concrete beach, the asphalt was installed as a sea defence in 1984 to protect 260 homes and businesses on the Esplanade and nearby, including the Grand Pavilion.

Upgraded in 2005, it has now come to the end of its viable life.

Contractor­s are already on the beach and the lower promenade has now been closed as work begins to partially demolish the “Tarmac beach” and replace it with a new terraced structure which will be surfaced in a sand colour, in line with the responses from the public consultati­on.

The Welsh Government has contribute­d £2.2m to the project, while Bridgend council will pay the difference for the scheme, which will cost a total of £3,065,528.

Residents and visitors with questions will be able to put them forward at an informatio­n session in the Grand Pavilion on Tuesday, February 27, organised by contractor Alun Griffiths.

An artist’s impression of what the new sea defence will look like will also be on display.

Bridgend council’s cabinet member for communitie­s, Richard Young, said: “The town beach is going to become an increasing­ly busy site over the next few months, and residents and visitors can expect to see the excavation of the existing beach area, repairs and surfacing work on the access ramps, the installati­on of all-new concrete terraces, repointing and repairs to the existing sea wall, the constructi­on of protective ‘rock armour’ and more.

“Every effort will be made to minimise inconvenie­nce while the work is under way, and the project will also deliver additional benefits, including new jobs and training opportunit­ies, as well as support for local businesses.”

The informatio­n session takes place at the Grand Pavilion on Tuesday between 3.30pm and 7pm.

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