August 2023: Plymouth is now home to a living seawall after organisations across the world united in an attempt to enhance biodiversity along its waterfront. Cattewater Harbour Commissioners installed the Living Sea Wall in August 2023 on behalf of Plymouth University, the project lead. The wall consists of a series of specially designed concrete tiles which provide new habitats for flora and fauna. The wall covers an area of 12m x 2m and is the largest installation of its kind in the UK. It has been met with international acclaim and continues to be studied and monitored by the university following it becoming home to a vast range of animals. Signage has been installed at the Mayflower steps providing locals and visitors with information about it.
A series of specially-designed concrete panels has been installed on the edge of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park to make new habitats available to a variety of marine flora and fauna.
The panels, developed as a result of extensive scientific research, have been fixed to the seawall close to the Mayflower Steps memorial. The hope is that they could become home to limpets, barnacles, anemones, seaweeds, sponges and other species commonly found in natural habitats along the South West coastline.
The Living Seawalls in Plymouth installation is the largest of its kind in the UK to date. The project is being led by the University of Plymouth working alongside partners including Living Seawalls, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Plymouth City Council, Tamar Estuaries Consultative Forum, Our Only World, The Rock Pool Project, Arup, Swansea University, and Ocean Conservation Trust.
The project is also being supported with funding from the University of Plymouth, Our Only World, Plymouth City Council, Tamar Estuaries Consultative Forum, Cattewater Harbour Commissioners, and Associated British Ports (ABP).