Anger at plan to spend £60,000 shifting sand on beach at Portobello

THE city council is set to spend £60,000 moving thousands of tonnes of sand from one side of Portobello beach to the other.

Specialist contractors are set to be hired for the unusual operation, which is due to be carried out in the spring and has prompted fresh criticism of the cash-strapped authority's spending priorities.

It is being done to shore up flood defences by tackling an imbalance left by storms last year and will see up to 20,000 tonnes of sand transported less than a mile from the west side of the beach to the east.

An advert described the project as an "operation to facilitate the restoration of the present beach profile to the post beach re-nourishment profile of 1988", when it was last carried out.

One council insider admitted that eyebrows had been raised when the project to "bring equilibrium and parity" to sand distribution emerged, while opposition councillors questioned the move.

Councillor Ewan Aitken, whose ward includes Portobello beach, said: "I would like to think that with the current shortfalls the administration would have bigger priorities than shifting sand from one side of the beach to the other. What if it blows back again?

"The people of Portobello have campaigned for a better promenade and library for years and instead they get this. They deserve better."

Nick Stroud, secretary of Portobello Community Council, said flood defences were too often overlooked, but he feared that shifting the sand would not solve the problem.

He said: "I believe we don't put enough planning and emphasis on flood prevention, especially in light of the extreme weather we've seen in recent years.

"However, a lot of the sand is blown off during the winter and I'm not sure shuffling around the deck chairs, as it were, will do much to help.

"I'd rather see 60,000 worth of fresh sand brought like last time rather than just spent on moving it around."

Portobello resident Robert Gatliff, 57, who lives on the promenade, also said he was in favour of the project, but was not sure that there was enough sand to restore the natural defences.

He said: "I would say that, as someone who lives on the promenade, this must be done to prevent further damage to the sea wall.

"However, I think a lot of it has been blown offshore and visually it doesn't look like there is enough sand to move.

"Previously they brought in sand from elsewhere but, as I understand it, this project will just involve shifting it around."

A council spokesman said: "Portobello beach forms a vital part of our coastal defences, cushioning the sea wall against the full force of the waves and, in turn, protecting the promenade and properties behind from serious damage.

"If we decide against taking action now and are hit by the severity of storm that battered our coastline last March, we could be left facing a repair bill totalling many times more than the cost of these works. It makes absolute financial sense."