News

Good afternoon everyone,

We hope last night wasn’t a sleepless one for you.

Our records show that this event was similar in wave height and energy to Storm Ciaran in November 2023, although last night’s conditions included stronger south-westerly winds.

Overnight, much of the beach crest through to Cooden was lost. Working with the tide, our teams have been rebuilding the most critical sections this morning. We will return to continue this work tomorrow (Saturday morning).

Shingle was washed onto the road at Herbrand Walk, which is currently closed. Shingle was also washed onto the road at Normans Bay, and two beach huts were moved by the waves.

The beach crest remains narrow in several locations, with access restricted east from Normans Bay along the top of the beach.

We will continue rebuilding the beach over the coming days and weeks to restore access where possible.

Please bear with us while this work takes place. We will do our best to limit disruption and to keep you and your homes safe.

👉 To stay informed and prepared, we strongly encourage residents to:

• Sign up for Environment Agency flood warnings:
  https://www.gov.uk/get-flood-warnings

• Subscribe to Beach Manager email updates via our short-term works page:
  https://www.pevenseyandeastbournecoast.co.uk/short-term-phase-2025-2027

Signing up means you’ll receive timely updates during severe weather and coastal events.

Apologies, earlier I got my swells and surges mixed up and hope this did not cause too much alarm.

We do not have a 2m surge forecast. The latest surge forecast peaks around midnight at 1.4m, dropping to 0.7m at high tide 02.50.

The wave height forecast has reduced since previous email to 3.2m at high tide.

This of course may change again but I won’t send any more confusing emails.

We still expect erosion along the beach and rest assured we will be out assessing and repairing in the early hours.

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I’m sure you’ve all been watching the weather, and for those signed up to receive them have now received a flood warning – the text of which I have included below.

I’ve delayed sending an update as the forecast has been changing all week, and there is still some uncertainty about the path this area of low pressure, that brings the wind, will take.

Latest forecasts are possible force 9 winds, 5m waves and 2m surge in the early hours of Friday. The wind direction shifting from South westerly, West south westerly, Westerly.

Fortunately, this weather soon passes, and we’ll have North westerly wind again. The forecast may change of course. ( If the low pressure passes further South from us the impacts will be less).

We’ll assess the expected erosion along the beach as soon as the tide starts to drop. Machines will be deployed as soon as we can work with the tide at 06.30.

We’ll have 5 no. Bulldozers, 6 no. 30t Dumpers and 2 no. excavators out on the beach.

We’ll make a further assessment tomorrow, Friday, whether we need to deploy machines through the weekend. With the tides and wind dropping we may not have too.

Stay Safe.

A flood alert has been issued by the Environment Agency.

Flood alert in force: Coastal areas of Pevensey seafront

Flooding is possible for: Coastal areas of Pevensey seafront between Sovereign Harbour and Cooden Beach including Norman Road Pevensey, The Promenade Pevensey, The Parade Pevensey, Beachlands, Normans Bay and the Cooden Beach Hotel

High tides on Friday may lead to flooding.

Flooding is possible for 2 hours either side of Friday’s early morning tide at 02:30 on 09/01/2026.

Storm Goretti increases tide table values by 0.91 m. The total forecast tide is 7.57 metres Chart Datum (3.92 mAOD) at Eastbourne. Severe Gale Force 9 Westerly wind. A small number of beach top properties from Sovereign Harbour to Cooden Beach, including (but not exclusively) the Parade and Promenade, Pevensey Bay, Beachlands, Normans Bay and Herbrand Walk could be flooded. Coastal roads may be affected by water, shingle and other debris. Friday’s tide at 14:45 09/01/2026 is forecast to be 106 cm lower (2.86 mAOD). Provided the beach is still in good condition, flood risk should reduce.

We are checking flood defences at low tide we will check and maintain the condition of Pevensey beach.

Don’t put yourself or others at risk Danger – stormy seas. Avoid Pevensey beach and Herbrand Walk at high tide.

This message will be updated by 6:00PM on 08 January 2026 or as the situation changes.

Be prepared

You should:

Stay up to date

To get the latest flood information, you can:

A quick overview of our plans over the holiday period.

After tomorrow, we currently plan to have machines on the beach Monday 22^nd, Tuesday 23^rd. Then Monday 29^th & Tuesday 30^th.

22^nd & 23^rd will be early starts to maximise working around the low tide and be clear for your afternoon walks.

We will be on standby for all other days until the new year. With current forecasts of high pressure and winds switching to North Easterly, we hope not to have to mobilise but will be ready if the weather changes.

You’ll have seen the progress we have made rebuilding the crest since the spring tides almost 2 weeks ago. There is still more to do and fortunately due to the Southerly winds that brought the damage there is still lots of shingle at the toe of the beach, and at Cooden.

We will be monitoring the beach and weather throughout the holiday period, with a keen awareness of the rising spring tides through the weekend immediately after the New Year before back to normal Monday 5^th Jan.

Please bear in mind if you send any enquiries or information to the beach manager email address over the next 2 weeks, there is likely to be more of a delay in responding.

I’d also like to say a big thank you for sharing the beach with us. We listen to all your feedback and act upon it when able to do so. The warmth that you have shown the team out on the beach does makes a difference. It gives us even more pride in the work we do on this beautiful beach.

Discover the latest progress on the Scheme, upcoming works, and key updates.

You can access the digital version using the links under 'Newsletters' on this webpage.

Discover the past, present, and possible futures of the Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne coastline, and see how we’re managing flood risk to protect thousands of homes.

Explore StoryMap now

Eastbourne beach and pier with bathing machines and horses, late 19th century.
(Image courtesy of Eastbourne Local History Society, Alan Wenham)

As you may have seen, Friday and Saturday’s severe weather caused significant impacts along the beach:

• Erosion occurred at several points from Sovereign Harbour to Cooden.
• Shingle was washed onto Herbrand Walk near the railway crossing.

Our teams worked tirelessly with double shifts over the weekend and are back on the beach today. They’re focusing on:

• Reinstating the most critical sections of the beach.
• Restoring access where it was lost.

Their hard work has been outstanding, and recovery efforts will continue throughout the week.

Please take extra care if you’re out on the beach. The waves have created steep slopes (cliffing) in several areas, which can be hazardous.

We know this work may cause some disruption, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we respond.

The rebuild: Saturday and Sunday morning

We have experienced some challenging conditions along the coast this week. Spring tides will peak at 3.7 metres today, and Thursday’s strong winds caused erosion across the frontage. We have seen the worst impacts around Old Martello Road, Grey Towers, Leyland, and Beachlands.

The material we moved last week to fill the scour hole has already washed away from the beach crest, so we have been working hard to keep the beach in shape and continue protecting homes.

Early this morning, at 2am, bulldozers were out repairing the most vulnerable areas in front of properties at Normans Bay East, Old Martello Road, and the Village. By 6am, our recycling teams were on the move, moving shingle from Normans Bay outfall to Normans Bay East, and from the sailing club towards Old Martello Road and Martello 64.

We will be back out early tomorrow from 3am, and likely again on Sunday morning, to repeat the work. To make the most of low tides, we need to operate outside daylight hours, so we thank you the local community for your understanding.

The weather is calm today, and it is been great to hear so many friendly thank-yous from people walking the beach.

Looking ahead, another front is due tonight and into Saturday morning, with possible strong winds again on Tuesday night (9 December). We will review conditions and keep working to do our very best to keep your homes safe.

Essential works underway: shingle moved and repairs completed along the frontage

We are keeping a close eye on the weather and getting ready for this week’s spring tides.

The latest forecast suggests strong southerly winds on Monday, shifting to south-westerly on Tuesday, with waves up to 3 metres. Conditions should ease as tides peak later in the week, but we will continue to monitor this closely.

To prepare, we have stockpiled shingle along the beach crest in several locations. This helps us respond quickly to any erosion, as high tides in the mornings will limit access to the lower beach. Our teams and machinery are ready to recycle and reposition shingle where needed.

We have also completed bypass operations from White Point and rebuilt the beach crest at key areas including Normans Bay, Beachlands, Sea Road car park, and more. Around 6,300 m³ of shingle has been moved to strengthen the frontage.

We will also move machinery from White Point to Pevensey Beach and continue with two recycling teams to repair any erosion caused by the spring tides this week.

Machinery along the beach crest near Normans Bay

Bulldozer moving shingle as part of beach works at Normans Bay east

The beach off Old Martello Road