A brand new look for the Quay in Sandwich was unveiled last Friday to the delight of residents and the Mayor of Sandwich.

The Quay area and car park has been closed for seven months for the Environment Agency to undertake vital flood defence work.

Just in time for Le Weekend last week, it was fully re-opened with all car parking spaces now available.

A spokeswoman for the Environment Agency said: “The site managers are very pleased with the work and have received some very positive feedback from local residents and the public.

“The Quay is now the great centre piece of Sandwich.”

The new look includes a ramp for visitors to view the river and a seating area where people can sit out in the summer months.

The work at the Quay was due to finish in March but faced delays due to severe weather in December which saw a tidal surge test the temporary defences put in place.

This part of the Town Tidal defence scheme was the most difficult due to its proximity to the centre of town, the lack of space for machinery and the conflict over parking spaces.

The conflict began in November last year when traders feared that reducing spaces on the Quay would have an impact on their businesses, particularly the Fisherman’s Wharf whose owner Chris Ash told the Mercury he lost a significant amount of profit.

Flood defence work is still continuing near the Princes Golf Course which should be finished by November.

In August, minor work will be required at Willowbank to repair a small gap in the existing sheet piling and at Discovery Park a new reinforced concrete flood wall will be built by November.

Work has also started at the Monks Wall Nature Reserve to raise the existing embankment and create a new flood relief area which will be completed by September.

The rest of the £21 million scheme which will reduce the flood risk to 488 homes and 94 commercial properties is due to be completed in June 2015.