Between 1990 and 2005, several beneficial use projects were undertaken at Horsey Island on the eastern coast of England. These involved placing dredged sediment directly onto intertidal habitats to achieve both habitat restoration and coastal protection objectives. They also included some of the largest such projects to have been undertaken in the UK. Horsey Island lies at the centre of the Hamford Water coastal inlet and provides an important coastal protection function for this embayment. The island is also important in its own right as a feeding, nesting and roosting habitat for birds. Given its location however, it is susceptible to wave attack on its exposed northern side. This resulted in its northern seawalls becoming severely undermined and large areas of coastal habitat being lost by the early 1990s (Dixon, 1992).

In response, several beneficial use initiatives were undertaken, using sediment from capital and maintenance dredging at the nearby ports of Harwich and Felixstowe. Some novel techniques were employed and the process was quite complex, with multiple phases and associated monitoring, consultation, consenting and assessment tasks.

In total though, around 255,000 m³ of coarse and fine sediments were beneficially used over five main phases. These placed sediments have since been relatively stable. After placement, the coarse shingle and sand initially rolled back towards the land but was then stabilised when the silt was placed behind it. The majority of the imported silt was also retained on site and showed no signs of significant export or erosion.

There has also been ecological improvement from this work. The site had largely been eroded hard foreshore mud prior to the works but was converted into a mosaic of different habitats, including mudflat, marsh and a shingle spit, used by nesting birds such as Little Terns. This work has demonstrated the value of beneficially using dredge sediment for both coastal protection and habitat restoration. It has also shown that, while short-term environmental effects must occur during such initiatives, long-term benefits can be achieved which can persist over at least two or three decades. The work at Horsey has also been a valuable precedent for beneficial use work at other sites in the UK.