A state-of-the-art radar mast on Morecambe seafront is to be installed to help protect the coast from floods and erosion.
The temporary column will be installed at Trafalgar Point on the Stone Jetty, after plans got the go-ahead this week.
It will be in place for up to three years.
CoastSense, a Liverpool-based company used by the Environment Agency to supply systems to help protect the coastline, will install the new mast which will be part of the North West Regional Coastal Monitoring programme, which stretches from Wirral to the Scottish border, and is one of six regional monitoring programmes that forms a national network across England.
The scheme was unanimously approved by Lancaster City Council’s planning regulatory committee.
A covering letter submitted with the planning application said: "Coastal monitoring involves collecting a variety of data in the coastal environment. Long-term monitoring builds up an evidence base to help us understand coastal processes, and understand where the risks, opportunities and consequences are in coastal management.
"The Synoptic4D nearshore monitoring system that we are proposing to deploy is a state-of-the-art radar observation technology that assists coastal managers make the best decisions on how to protect the coast from erosion and flooding.
"It uses a suite of equipment including radar, meteorological and tidal sensors mounted on a street lighting type post to measure water depths, beach elevations, wave directions and sea current information.
"The equipment needs a good line of sight to the beach and sea and must be mounted at a sufficiently high elevation to ensure the best possible data collection for use by the coastal authorities.
"The site selected is based on the optimum location for the operation of the equipment. It has previously been deployed here in its mobile format based around a shipping container. As this will be a longer deployment (three years) it is proposed to deploy it in a more permanent and less intrusive format based around a lighting column."
The report says: "The programme facilitates the systematic collection of coastal monitoring data to inform sustainable decision-making on the coast. The programme is funded by Defra (the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and Sefton Council act as the lead authority.
"All of the data that is collected through the programme is gathered and managed by Sefton Council and made publicly available through the Channel Coast website."
The CoastSense website says their technology "monitors waves, currents, tides and weather and delivers remote, autonomous and continuous data collection to organisations across the world".
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