Twenty three beaches along Clacton seafront have been reopened to the public ahead of schedule thanks to the early completion of coastal defence work by the VBA joint venture.

The joint venture, which comprises of VolkerStevin, Boskalis Westminster and Atkins, has now handed the major £36 million project, and remaining six beaches, to Tendring District Council (TDC).

Nick Turner, TDC’s cabinet member for coastal protection, said that the whole scheme has been carried out with minimum disruption, commenting:

 “It is a credit to our contractors, the TDC team and all of our partners that we are in a position where all the new beaches will be back in use by this time. I have hailed this as the creation of a piece of New England of more than three miles and it is a truly fantastic achievement.”

The overall length of the upgrade involves 5km of coastline.

Mark Gardner, framework director for VBA, said:

“We’re delighted that we have handed the project back to Tendring District Council ahead of schedule. The upgrades mean that the public will be able to enjoy the beach even more for years to come.”

The new coastal defences will protect more than 3,000 residential and commercial properties for the next 100 years and will act as a catalyst for the renaissance of the seafront.

The project is being financed by Tendring District Council (TDC), Essex County Council (ECC) and the Environment Agency.