Interactive Event: Seafront Flood Defence Showcase

If you have been walking along the Brighton seafront lately, you have probably noticed the ongoing work to protect our coastline. It is a massive project, and if you are curious about the engineering behind it or just want to understand how our beach is changing, there is an interactive event coming up at the King Alfred Centre that might be worth your time.

On Thursday, 16 April 2026, the council is hosting an open session in the centre’s ballroom from 17:00 to 19:00. The event is designed to explain the coastal defence work currently happening between the leisure centre and Second Avenue. The core of the project involves building a new field of wooden groynes. To extend the beach and provide better protection against flooding, erosion, and rising sea levels, the gaps between these new structures will be filled with shingle sourced from a marine borrow area east of the Isle of Wight.

Beyond the technical side, the organisers—Brighton and Hove City Council, working alongside Van Oord UK Ltd—have put together a programme that includes guest speakers and interactive exhibits. You will hear from Nicola Aitken of Gilmour and Aitken, Jane Miller OBE, who is the former UK High Commissioner to the Republic of Guyana, and Paul Hesk, the Managing Director of Van Oord UK Ltd. They will be discussing the project’s scope and the collaborative effort involving the Environment Agency, the council, Adur District, and Shoreham Port.

What makes this session a bit different is the focus on education. There is an 'Immersive Education Event' specifically for children and school groups. This includes a wave tank demonstration, a wood education station, and a visit to the 'Guyana Forest' inside an 'Immersion Dome'. It is a practical way to show how the new groyne field will be constructed and, more broadly, to introduce younger residents to the fields of engineering and environmental protection. Whether you are interested in the local infrastructure or just looking for an informative way to spend a couple of hours, it is a straightforward opportunity to see what is happening on our doorstep.