In the seaside town of Cleveleys, robust engineering and public art come together in a boldy-designed public promenade which protects the town from flooding. Designed by Wyre Borough Council.
Towards the end of the 1990s, the small seaside town of Cleveleys, just north of Blackpool in Lancashire, faced two problems. The combined sea defence and promenade, built in the 1920s, had reached the end of its useful life, and maintenance was becoming increasingly impractical. In addition, according to climate change predictions, the protection it offered would become increasingly inadequate. A sea wall, hurriedly constructed in the 1980s after flooding, had isolated the sea front from the town and it was recognised that Cleveleys was losing visitors to competitor towns offering a better-quality environment.
Strategic harmony
In 2004 Wyre Borough Council held a competition for a masterplan to reconstruct a one-kilometre stretch of the seafront in a way that would both defend the town from the predicted effects of climate change while also creating a larger, innovative, high-quality public promenade.
The competition was won by private contractor, Birse Coastal Limited (BCL). A partnership was then set up between BCL, the council and artist Stephen Broadbent to deliver a masterplan and a public art strategy.
The people’s new wave
The resulting project – called the New Wave – is an attractive and spacious pedestrian promenade and a sea defence designed to withstand the 200mm sea level rise predicted as a result of climate change. The improved appearance of the seafront has encouraged private investment and more effectively linked the town with the seafront. Locally, it has become known as ‘the people’s promenade’ because of the active involvement of the community.
