The Council approved an application to rebuild the Volks railway sheds at Banjo groyne, Kemptown – and install a park with ‘solar trees’ to harness green electricity for the train. Very cool, and a nice addition to what – green wall apart – is a long stretch of seafront with little natural habitat.

There will be some existing vegetated shingle lost – unfortunate, given this is a national priority habitat of European importance – but overall there will be net gain of 192m2. See the ecology statement. This will be in a new ‘solar park‘ to the left of the groyne, where the council keep the swimming buoys in winter…with interpretation etc.

Now

Amazing to think that when the Volks was running in the late 19th Century, the sea came in right up to the road boundary – that section of track to the left of the sandy triangle was elevated above the water.

Elevated section – shingle solar park to be created to the left of this section of track

All that shingle collected in a little over 100 years by groynes and longshore drift…

After

Visualisation by vistudio