Significant erosion at Wicklow beach sparks concerns over protection of homes and businesses

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

Wicklow County Council is facing repeated calls to liaise with business owners and residents worried about the significant levels of erosion taking place at Clogga Beach in Arklow.

Last year access to the beach was restricted for three months after a significant landslide.

Raising the issue with her district colleagues at their November district meeting Cllr Peir Leonard said there is an urgency to address the matter.

“There are a lot of residents that are really worried about the protection of their homes and businesses down there, so something needs to be done to liaise with them.”

Cllr Leonard has repeatedly raised this issue with council officials in recent months and, while welcoming the opening of the new Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant, she feels any future dredging works also needed to be prioritised, especially for regular users of the river.

“We have many different recreational clubs and different recreational boat users in the town, and I have been asked by them to try and get the dredging part of the deliver prioritised as part of the flood relief scheme.

“I think that needs to be made a priority because there's that much silt in the river and I think the dredging part could be prioritised and probably done as one of the first measures of the scheme going forward.

“There's a real need for recreational amenities for the kids in the town, and they don't even realise that the river is there for them to get involved in.” she added.

In response, district engineer Avril Hill indicated a meeting with residents and affected business owners is expected to take place shortly.

In August 2025 the Office of Public Works (OPW) announced the approval of Wicklow County Council’s application for funding under the Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme.

Under the scheme, the OPW approved additional funding of €31,638 to extend the remit of the Coastal Erosion Risk Management Study currently underway from Arklow North Beach to Clogga Beach.

The additional funding is allowing the consultant to conduct a wave overtopping and associated flood inundation analysis to characterise the problem along the coastline of Arklow. The total approved funding is now €153,138.

The Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme was introduced by the OPW in 2009.

Since then, 20 funding applications by Wicklow County Council have been supported under this scheme, which aims to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas.