'Like being in max security jail'

Giant wall to protect homes from rising sea provokes a backlash

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor [e-mail]

THE full scale of planned flood defence works at a Gwynedd seaside resort is dawning on worried residents.

Concerns have been raised in Barmouth over the height of a planned new flood defence wall and the potential visual blight of new rock armour.

Safety fears have also been flagged over aspects of the two-year project due to start this summer. Residents have called for changes to a scheme that will allow the resort's promenade to flood in stormy weather, storing water like a reservoir.

New coastal defences along Barmouth’s north promenade are in the final stages of design by Cyngor Gwynedd. Partial prom collapses in 2020-21 highlighted the urgent need for improvements to avoid potentially catastrophic flooding.

Council consultants YGC ruled out raising the height of the primary wall and revetment along the seafront as this would have a “significant visual impact” on a town that relies heavily on tourism. Instead the goal is to increase the height of a 1.2km-long secondary wall. This wall is set back from the seafront and sits in front of housing estates.

The new concrete recurve wall will vary in height between 1.55 and 1.7 metres (5.1ft-5.6ft). Estate resident Kye Smith was shocked when he discovered this was the plan.

“The extreme height of this concrete wall will obstruct light and views. It will also invite antisocial behaviour such as graffiti and poor driving as it's so high no one can be seen behind it.”

To prove his point the 38-year-old construction worker propped up 1.7-metre planks alongside the existing stone wall. Taking photos, he then overlaid coloured blocks on the images to produce an “accurate” representation of the wall’s visual impact.

It was at this point he realised the wall would be even more domineering when viewed from the promenade. As this lies 550mm lower down a slope, he calculated a net height of 2.25 metres when viewed from the seafront.