The Project

Using funding provided by the BCP Community Infrastructure Levy, works to reconstruct and upgrade the sluice channel and gate started on 21 July 2025. An additional contribution of £60,210 was provided by the Active Travel Fund to cover the cost of completing the segregated footpath & cycle track along the waterfront at Whitecliff and Baiter as part of this project.

The works involved

The old concrete bridge deck was removed and replaced with a series of 3.5m x 3.5m precast box culvert sections within the channel using a 70T telescopic crawler crane. A reinforced concrete apron and wingwalls were added, with a trash screen installed to protect the structure and maintain smooth water flow. The project’s location, adjacent to Network Rail infrastructure, meant that works needed to be undertaken under a Basic Asset Protection Agreement (BAPA) licence, with strict protocols in place to protect the company’s assets and operations.

Throughout the works salt water was pumped from the harbour to Poole Park’s saline lagoon to maintain the water quality within it. All plant and machinery used in the delivery of this project was operated on marine-friendly bio oil.

Why the work happened over the summer months

As a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Protection Area (SPA), Poole Harbour is an internationally important site for over-wintering wildfowl and waders through the colder months, which means that work likely to cause them disturbance cannot be carried out during winter.

Closures & diversions, July – November 2025

Keyhole Bridge was temporarily closed to motor vehicles during the works, for safety reasons, due to the increased number of pedestrians & cyclists requiring access to Baiter via the underpass as a result of the diverted route.

Project background

The sluice channel was probably the most critical part of Poole Park’s development following construction of the railway embankment in 1872, cutting off Parkstone Bay from the sea and creating a salt-water lake.

The channel maintains the link to salt water in the harbour and allows the management of the water, historically as a boating lake, but more recently as a sluice-controlled saline lagoon. The monthly exchange of water with Poole Harbour helps to maintain salinity levels in the lagoon and support the rare species that live there.

Ground investigation work was undertaken in 2022, and the report suggested that “The condition of the sluice channel underneath the shared path [at Baiter] has now deteriorated to a point that it is no longer safe for service vehicles to drive over due to the potential for collapse and therefore it was closed off to vehicular movement in 2021. It is likely that this section will need to be closed permanently for all users sometime in the short-term future as the condition of the channel continues to worsen if nothing is done.” The information collated during the investigation has informed the design for this renovation project.

Corrosion of sheet piling in the sluice channel, 2018

Harbourside Park (Whitecliff & Baiter)