The province of North Holland, Gemeente Texel, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier, Rijkswaterstaat, Staatsbosbeheer and the Ministry of Defence have agreed on four measures to strengthen and protect the south-west coast of Texel.

Four measures

1. Rijkswaterstaat wants to spray a larger amount of sand in 2027/2028 for a period of 4 to 6 years, instead of once every 3 years. Sand replenishment is relatively expensive and does not always help. Dumping sand less frequently off the coast will reduce disruption to benthic life and also beach recreation.
2. There will also be 10 notches in the outer row of dunes along the North Sea coast of Texel. These will be constructed in phases over a longer period. One such notch was already installed at post 14 in autumn 2024. The purpose of these holes is for the sea wind to spread the sand from the beach further into the dunes. Since there is usually a south-westerly wind in the Netherlands, the dunes could grow much faster after the holes are made than they do now. This would allow the dunes to grow with the rising sea level.
3. The removal of dune tops in the sea strip between pole 8 and the Jan Ayeslag will also be done gradually. The notches will be designed to prevent seawater from entering the hinterland.
4. Finally, Hoogheemraadschap, municipality, Rijkswaterstaat and Staatsbosbeheer will work together with the entrepreneurs of the pavilions at post 9 and post 12 to determine a place where they can remain for the next 10 years. These pavilions now have to be moved each time the dunes grow. This gives entrepreneurs more security and recreational users a place to stay.

Space for sea and wind

Rosan Kocken (province of North Holland): "With these measures, we are giving space to the sea and wind to drift sand from the beach into the dunes. This makes the dunes wider and stronger and they grow along with the rising seawater. At the same time, we are restoring valuable dune nature. This is a great result of good cooperation." The coastal parties are further developing the measures into one overall design. After the summer, there will be an information meeting for residents about the chosen measures and the next steps.

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