Project record

Folkestone to Hythe beach management works 2025-2030

Chunnel-branded excavator and articulated dump trucks carrying out beach management and shingle recycling on the Folkestone and Hythe coast

Folkestone & Hythe District Council; programme image published with the August 2025 funding announcement, not a dated record of the spring 2026 campaign

Folkestone & Hythe District Council signed a GBP 2.3 million excluding-VAT beach-management contract with Chunnel Plant Hire and Contractors Limited on 3 November 2025. The initial term runs from 24 November 2025 to 2 November 2028, with an option to extend to 2 November 2030. The programme recycles and regrades existing shingle between Fisherman's Beach, Hythe and Folkestone Harbour to maintain beach levels in front of the sea wall. The council reported the spring 2026 campaign starting in March with 100,000 tonnes to be moved over six to eight weeks, and its April purchase-order disclosure names Chunnel Group against Beach Management 2025-30 at GBP 120,000. Neither record publishes the completed tonnage, survey profile, acceptance certificate or subcontract chain.

Project signal

Delivery in United Kingdom

Current status Chunnel holds the signed beach-management contract; the council reported a 100,000-tonne spring 2026 campaign under way and an April purchase order names Chunnel, while measured completion and profile acceptance remain unpublished Source confidence Confirmed

Location

United Kingdom / Europe

Segment

Shingle recycling, beach regrading and coastal flood defence

Status

Chunnel holds the signed beach-management contract; the council reported a 100,000-tonne spring 2026 campaign under way and an April purchase order names Chunnel, while measured completion and profile acceptance remain unpublished / Confirmed

Last checked

4 August 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Shingle recycling, beach regrading and coastal flood defence is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
Folkestone & Hythe District Council, with Environment Agency grant funding for the five-year beach-management programme
Delivery parties
Chunnel Plant Hire and Contractors Limited - signed principal contractor, Beach-profile survey, haulage, environmental and other downstream parties - undisclosed
Contract route
Below-threshold open competition under the Procurement Act 2023. The tender weighted price at 60% and quality at 40%; three tenders were received and Chunnel was selected. The August 2025 award notice carried an incorrect term and was formally terminated for correction. The corrected November award notice and December contract-details notice retain the same supplier and GBP 2.3 million excluding-VAT value, and confirm signature on 3 November 2025.
Execution window
Signed contract from 24 November 2025 to 2 November 2028, with a two-year extension option to 2 November 2030. The owner describes biannual campaigns. The spring 2026 campaign was scheduled to begin on 9 March and run for six to eight weeks; a completion notice has not been identified.
Works package
Recycling and regrading existing shingle along the approximately 7 km frontage between Fisherman's Beach in Hythe and Folkestone Harbour. Material is moved from east to west to raise and stabilise beach levels, protect the sea wall, reduce overtopping, flood and erosion risk, and limit landslip reactivation. The council's August 2025 funding release describes 160,000 m3 across the programme; the March 2026 campaign notice uses a separate operational measure of 100,000 tonnes.
Marine interfaces
Tidal and weather windows, live public beach access, haul routes and heavy-plant movement, longshore-drift response, existing sea-wall protection, buried timber groynes, seasonal environmental controls, storm-recovery work and beach-profile survey acceptance. The damaged Mermaid Beach breakwater is being considered separately and is not included in the evidenced Chunnel package.
Commercial evidence boundary
The signed contract is GBP 2.3 million excluding VAT. The council separately secured GBP 2.35 million of Environment Agency funding and disclosed a GBP 120,000 April 2026 purchase order to Chunnel. These values have different bases and must not be added or treated as actual programme expenditure. Annual work can vary with seasonal recycling requirements and ad hoc or emergency works.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

Council purchase order names Chunnel on the active programme

The April 2026 disclosure records a GBP 120,000 capital purchase order to Chunnel Group for Beach Management 2025-30. It supports contractor continuity but is not proof of payment, completed volume or acceptance.

Source

Spring campaign begins with 100,000 tonnes planned

The council announced a six-to-eight-week cycle moving shingle east to west between Fisherman's Beach and Folkestone Harbour. The release does not publish completed tonnage or profile acceptance.

Source

Chunnel contract signed after award-term correction

The contract-details notice confirms Chunnel, GBP 2.3 million excluding VAT, an initial three-year term and a two-year extension option.

Source

Environment Agency funding secures the five-year programme

The council reported GBP 2.35 million funding for biannual recycling and regrading, with a 160,000 m3 programme baseline protecting more than 3,000 homes and businesses.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Spring 2026 campaign completion date and measured tonnage
  • Pre- and post-work beach profile surveys and acceptance tolerances
  • Autumn 2026 recycling and regrading campaign scope
  • Mermaid Beach breakwater repair decision after Storm Goretti damage
  • Annual purchase orders, contract modifications and Environment Agency funding drawdown
  • Named haulage, survey, environmental and specialist plant subcontractors
  • Performance evidence supporting the 2028 extension decision

Related records 2

Reporting status

Delivery, confirmed confidence

Last checked 4 August 2026 across 7 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 4 August 2026 Cited sources 7

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 7