A trial at Lymington Harbour in Hampshire has shown how sediment dredged from the harbour could be reused to help restore an eroding saltmarsh, with vegetation returning to a treated area within about a year. The project is being led by Lymington Harbour Commissioners with Land & Water and other partners, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency and the Crown Estate. Lymington's saltmarsh has been declining since around 1920 and continues to erode, raising concerns about the natural coastal protection it provides around the harbour. Instead of allowing dredged sediment to remain in conventional disposal areas, the project has tested ways of moving it to higher parts of the marsh, where the ground can reach elevations suitable for saltmarsh vegetation to establish. After the first 2024 trial, around 800 cubic metres of sediment had been placed, and monitoring showed substantial vegetation recovery by the following year.
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