Could Hengistbury Head, Christchurch, UK (left) be turned into a super bank with a little tinkering of a groyne?

While everyone looks at wave pools to increase the number of waves one man has been looking at solving coastal erosion and providing Bournemouth with it’s own Superbank.

Potential! Imagine lines wrapping down this mid winter on a big south west swell…

Local legend Guy Penwarden has submitted proposals to adjust the length and angle of the dysfunctional Hengistbury Head (HH) Long Groyne (LG), just outside of Christchurch, Bournemouth, to help protect the foreshore from coastal erosion and… produce a super bank on the south coast of the UK.

Pre groyne sand and mini peelers. Looks like two points to us!

“The groyne was constructed between 1937–1939 in order to counteract the west to east longshore drift and erosion, however the eastern aspect has suffered “a considerable loss of beach material” and “increased the threat of a breach of Christchurch Harbour”. As a result, five new Rock Groynes were built in the 1990s to counteract the effects of the lack of sand reaching the eastern aspect beach (by way of longshore drift) where it is needed.” says Guy

You can see where he is coming from… Groynes almost mapping the way…

What he is proposing is that the local government change the geometry/size of the groyne to trap more sand, protecting the harbour and as a side creating a super bank. This could then designated as a surfing reserve, to boost surfing based tourism throughout the year.

Just take away that groyne and …

Crazy idea? Maybe not. The Superbank works and there a plenty of other natural sand points that have very similar set ups.

Imsouane twinned with Christchurch

“HH would be an ideal location for surfers for several reasons; if the shape and orientation of the LG were changed to allow more swell around HH into Christchurch Bay adjacent to the five new groynes / Mudeford Spit sandbar it would not only build up the beach where it is needed but create an ideal ‘point break’ type wave for the surf community, surfable on all tides and sheltered from the predominant south westerly winds which make the waves choppy and bad for surfing. The HH headland is approximately 100ft high and would shelter the waves from wind impact from SW-NW.”

Guy has already engaged with the Coastal Marine Applied Research (CMAR) of Plymouth University who are experts in this field and have produced an initial proposal outlining the details with a draft quotation, along with consulting surfers.

As he points out “Due to the shortening of Boscombe Pier and the failure of the reef project – along with beach replenishment and dredging – all of which have had a negative impact on surfing. We are now faced with a situation where we have more and more surfers and less places to surf…. It would also be the most consistent wave in Poole Bay e.g. surfable on more days per year, even on small summer wind swells.

Sound good? You can view the whole proposal here.