Restoration of the dunes at the West Sands beach in St Andrews has been described as “a race against time and tide.”
The beach, which will also be the backdrop to the 150th Open this summer, has had diggers, trucks and other machinery moving sand from one end to the other.
Six 30-tonne trucks are moving over 6000 tonnes from Outhead, at the mouth of the Eden Estuary, to the mouth of the Swilcan Burn at the Bruce Embankment.
The sand will restore part of an ancient dune system to its original form and is being taken from the low water mark off the Outhead to model the dunes, which protect St Andrews’ golf courses.
The contractors, Thomas Menzies (Builders), have until the end of the month to move the sand, co-ordinated by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust project manager Julian Inglis.
He said, “This really is a race against time and tide.
“We have permission from Scottish Natural Heritage to remove sand from a site off the Outhead until the end of the month. This is to avoid the potential for disturbance to wildlife, especially seals.”
The operation has been planned to minimise disturbance to the environment and to people on the beach enjoying the weather. The dunes will be replanted and stabilised by local plants such as lyme and marram grass.
Mr Inglis said, “The dunes are, of course, very popular with the many thousands of visitors who come here year-round and over time they lose the vegetation that binds the sand.
“This makes them very susceptible to wind and wave action.”
He added, “If we want to keep the beach for future generations then we have to look after it.”