New gabions, wire 'bags' which will be filled with shingle were constructed to replace the damaged ones. Some were damaged by storm activity but in some cases they were weakened because people lit bbqs on top of the gabion mattress and this caused the original plastic coated wire to catch fire! Not a good idea.
This is a close up of the new gabion mattress while it was being constructed. The mesh is narrower than the old version to reduce the chance of the shingle 'escaping'.
The base of the gabion tower was excavated to see what damage had been done and to determine what needed to be done to maintain the structure. Initially it was thought that the gabions could be mended but it was later decided to replace some of the gabions.
This picture shows some of the damaged gabions that needed replacing as well as the lower ones which survived the storms as they were so deeply buried. The picture also shows the level where pebbles were mixed with sand. Sheeting piling is exposed below the end of the sea wall.
This close up of the gabion tower shows the level at which the shingle was mixed with sand. It is thought that this was the lowest level of erosion during the storms.