WORK has started on a new cafe-on-stilts that aims to beat rising sea levels and tidal storm surges.

The eatery and visitor centre at Lepe Country Park is being replaced by a new complex with a unique design that reflects that dramatic impact of climate change.

Three years ago current complex suffered about £100,000 of damage after it was flooded by a ferocious storm that struck the south coast.

The new glass-fronted facility, part of a £2.7 million plan to transform the area, is being built on top of concrete columns to keep it safe from the sea.

Owned by Hampshire County Council, Lepe Country Park is a 120-acre attraction used by 300,000 people a year.

The county council is contributing £1.85m towards the cost of the improvement scheme and the Enterprise M3 LEP Local Growth Fund is donating £850,000.

A planning application was submitted to the New Forest National Park authority (NPA) last summer. At the time senior councillors described it as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to upgrade the area.

A council spokesman said some of the work began at the start of the year.

He added: “Work completed so far includes a revamped play area that opened in time for the Easter holidays and offers new features such as swings and a woodland-themed play park for young visitors.

“Construction work continues to progress on the new visitor centre, which will include a larger café with panoramic views of the Solent.

“Lepe’s current café will remain open until the new building is completed next spring, ahead of the full project being completed in the summer.”

A new landscaped rigging area where windsurfers can prepare their sails and equipment is due to open later this month, and a family-friendly sensory garden at Lepe Point will welcome its first visitors in July.

The wheelchair and pushchair-accessible area will include ponds, picnic facilities and a bug hotel.

Andrew Gibson, pictured, the county council’s executive member for culture, recreation and countryside, said: “We’re delighted with the scheme’s progress, with many developments now visible to visitors.”

Plans for the new cafe and visitor centre were approved by the NPA last October.

Lepe played a major role during the build-up to the D-Day landings and evidence of its contribution to the invasion can still be seen.

The beach was used to build some of the huge concrete caissons that were towed across the Channel to form the famous Mulberry Harbour, which helped keep the troops supplied.