WORK started this week on rebuilding a 400 metre stretch of the sea wall at Blackpool's North Shore.

Construction of the St Stephen's Avenue Coast Protection Scheme, running northwards from the boating pool at Knowle Avenue, will mark the completion of a 20-year rolling programme costing £28m to renew the North Shore sea wall from Cocker Square to Anchorsholme Park.

This final phase is being carried out at a cost of around £2.75 million, three quarters of which is being funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the rest from council coffers.

The project is being carried out by Blackpool Borough Council and Birse Construction Ltd and site works are expected to take until November.

Retaining walls on the ramp between Middle Walk and the Lower Promenade next to Gynn Square will also be strengthened as part of the project, and this part of the work is expected to take until mid-June. For safety reasons the Lower Promenade, the cliff paths and the beach steps will be fenced off and closed to the public between the boating pool and the north side of Duchess Drive at Norfolk Avenue while work is carried out, but the cliff-top path will be unaffected.

The lift at the boating pool is only expected to operate at weekends and on bank holidays during the 2002 season.

Head of technical services John Shaw said: "This work will conclude an important and exciting scheme that has had to be carried out gradually over two decades and represents a major investment in Blackpool.

"The scheme as a whole is a feat of civil engineering designed to protect and enhance Blackpool's coastline for many years to come."