As part of the wider Colwyn Bay Waterfront Development Project, Conwy Borough Council commissioned us to recommend the most appropriate defence option for the western part of Colwyn Bay, North Wales.

To identify a sustainable coastal defence solution, we used a combination of SEASTATES hindcast databases, detailed local-scale numerical modelling, coastal processes assessment and analysis.

We developed a conceptual understanding of beach behaviour including sediment sources, transport pathways and sinks, profile response to storm events and the system controls which govern beach evolution. We also considered how the natural hydrodynamic processes are modified by the local morphology. Particular attention was given to describing the local wave effects and their effects on sediment movement along the western Colwyn Bay frontage.

The SEASTATES hindcast database was invaluable in providing wave conditions over the last 20 years, allowing an understanding of the baseline morphological regime. Once the observed morphological regime was accurately reproduced by our sediment transport model (forced by SEASTATES), an understanding of the impact of various scheme options was easily achieved.

Learn more about our metocean design criteria.