44 YEAR OLD GABION STRUCTURE

Adjacent to the village of Downderry the beach was affected by erosion. Tidal action undermined the toe of the cliff and threatened to cause a major slip. Properties, including a Hotel, were endangered by possible subsidence.

As the cliff was above the normal high tide level, it was  considered sufficient to construct a stepped retaining wall   from mass gravity gabions. The work was completed in   1971, and the threat of erosion was removed. The properties   on the cliff were also stabilized and no longer in danger of   possible subsidence. After 44 years, the gabion coating and   structure seems to show no sign of any significant damage   and the gabion structure is perfectly integrated with the   coastal environment.