VBA Joint Venture Ltd has won the contract for the £36 million coastal defence project from Clacton Pier to Holland Haven.
The VBA JV – consisting of VolkerStevin and partners Boskalis Westminster and Atkins - beat two rival bids for the scheme, which was designed by project manager Mott MacDonald.
Work on the project along a 5km stretch of coastline is due to get underway next month and carry on throughout the summer and into autumn. It will start up again in spring 2015 and should be completed in the autumn of next year.
The project has been funded with £3million each from Tendring District Council and Essex County Council, with an extra £1m expected from both authorities, which in turn unlocked a £27m grant from the Environment Agency’s flood defence fund and £512,000 from the Government’s growth fund.
Nick Turner, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Coast Protection, said the signing of the contract is a major milestone in the overall programme.
“We now have the contractor in place to deliver this huge coastal defence scheme which residents have been longing for. It will get off the ground earlier than expected and will be completed in around 18 months – which is much quicker than we originally anticipated.”
Mark Johnson, Area Coastal Manager for the Environment Agency, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to see this important scheme making progress and we look forward to continuing to work closely with Tendring District Council throughout the work.”
Peter Phipps, the Mott MacDonald Project Director, said:
“We are delighted to continue the relationship with Tendring District Council and project funders including Essex County Council and The Environment Agency, through the successful Project Appraisal process and subsequent Detailed Design, and now on to the Construction Phase.
The scheme, which received planning permission in January, has been hailed as a vital boost for regenerating the seafront as well as protecting more than 3,000 homes and commercial properties.
It involves demolishing a number of existing timber and concrete groynes along the frontage and building 22 fishtail groynes and a terminal groyne in their place.
The plans also include a beach recharge of around 950,000 cubic metres of material with rocks being brought in by sea from Norway.
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