The construction of four major coastal defence capital schemes on the Isle of Wight with a total potential cost of £54.7 million to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal erosion moves one step closer to completion after receiving £7 million of central government funding.
The Environment Agency, in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council, is working alongside industry experts JBA Consulting and VolkerStevin on the scheme, which will reduce risk of flooding and coastal erosion to more than 3,700 homes and businesses on the island along with infrastructure and over 300 hectares of protected habitats.
At this stage it is estimated that the four capital schemes have a total potential cost of £54.7 million, with partnership funding opportunities to supplement the available government funding.
The programme includes seeking the necessary funds for:
- refurbishment and replacement of some of the existing coastal defences and additional slope stabilisation measures in Ventnor
- refurbishment of the sea wall and defences at Yaverland and Culver Parade in Sandown
- refurbishment of the sea wall and defences at Shanklin Esplanade
- repair work to the sea defences at Embankment Road, between St Helens and Bembridge.
Although the Ventnor and Shanklin defences are owned and maintained by the Isle of Wight Council, the Environment Agency is working on the council’s behalf to develop a business case for future investment.
Different parts of the Yaverland defences are owned and maintained by either the Environment Agency or the Isle of Wight Council, but both organisations will work together to assess how best to refurbish or replace parts of the coastal defences which were first built by Victorian engineers over 100 years ago.
The defences at Embankment Road are privately owned and maintained, but as a competent authority under Habitat Regulations the Environment Agency is looking to protect the designated habitat of Brading Marshes.
The four projects at Embankment Road (Bembridge), Yaverland, Shanklin and Ventnor are now being progressed - the current coastal defences are ageing at these locations and the current work is investigating how these could be replaced.
Nick Gray, the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for Solent and South Downs Area, said:
“It’s great news that we can now move to the next stage of this ambitious scheme.
“Our teams will continue our work with the community to understand their priorities and concerns, and develop and design a preferred option for each location. It will also enable us to undertake the necessary technical, economic and environmental work and ground investigations to inform our decisions.
“Once this phase is complete, we will be requesting further funding from central government to finalise the business case and construct the schemes.”
The investment will help the coastal communities to be more resilient to the increasing risk of tidal flooding and coastal erosion and help protect the designated habitat at Brading Marshes.
Floods Minister Rebecca Pow said:
“This vital £7 million in funding will bring the Isle of Wight coastal defence scheme one step closer to beginning construction, and once completed will see more than 3,700 island homes and businesses better protected from flooding and coastal erosion.”
Click here for more information about the proposed schemes
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
Owen Mace has taken over as Director of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Plastic Pipes Group on the retirement of Caroline Ayres. He was previously Standards and Technical Manager for the group.
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.