A TRAINING exercise will take place to the backdrop of stunning cliffs made famous by TV drama Broadchurch.

The Environment Agency will be heading to West Bay to carry out the exercise on Tuesday next week.

Visitors will see up to 60 metres of temporary coastal defence barriers deployed in East Beach Car Park in preparation for any future tidal incidents.

The barriers – one of four types used by the Agency – are large, self-supporting, recyclable containers filled with aggregate. They are covered with an impenetrable membrane which prevents water from getting through. They are also fitted with a lid to prevent loss of fill material during over-topping and extreme weather conditions.

Exercise organiser and engineer Dan Hooper said: “West Bay is a high risk flood area because of strong south westerly winds, high tides and the close proximity of properties to the sea and nearby River Brit so it’s essential we are ‘incident-ready’ by carrying out exercises like this.

“These barriers are relatively new to the Agency so this exercise provides us with an opportunity to get to grips with them – how we open, connect and fill them – using a stockpile of beach materials already located on site.  

“Sharpening our practical skills and knowledge means we can better protect homes, businesses and the environment quickly and safely should a major incident be expected in West Bay or anywhere along the Dorset coast.”

Partner agencies have been invited to observe the exercise, including representatives from the British Army, Dorset Local Resilience Forum (local authorities, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, Dorset Police, Civil Contingencies Unit) and the West Bay Harbourmaster.

One of the Agency’s new Incident Command Units (ICU) will also be on site recording footage of the exercise. The wifi-enabled ICU acts as a mobile incident room and a temporary headquarters for staff out in the field, enabling better site management, situational awareness and visibility in flood risk communities. 

Part of the car park will be cordoned off, but vehicle users will still be able to access the remainder of the car park and beach.