Developing one of the largest coastal protection projects in UK

The Environment Agency – in partnership with Eastbourne Borough Council – is working on a new, +£100 million large shoreline protection project – the Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne Coastal Management Scheme.

According to EA, this will be one of the largest coastal flood risk projects in the country, as they plan to make these areas resilient to coastal flooding in response to the current climate emergency.

The main goal of the scheme is to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal erosion to an estimated 10,000 residential properties as well as key infrastructure, local businesses, heritage sites and nature conservation areas.

“Along with reducing the flood risk, we will also be looking to increase biodiversity by 20% and reduce the amount of carbon generated throughout the life of the project, by at least 45% with an aim of becoming Net Zero by 2030,” said EA.

Climate change is a critical factor in why a scheme is needed.

Sea level rise is predicted to rise by more than a metre over the next 100 years. This, along with a predicted rise in the number of storms, will increase the risk of coastal flooding and erosion.

“If we do not review and update our current approach to coastal flood defences, this will mean a significant increase in the chance of the sea over topping or even breaking through the current defences. This will impact to people’s homes, day to day lives and livelihoods,” said EA.

“We need to address what the future coastal conditions will look like and how we will adapt and become resilient to coastal flooding into the future, to provide protection to the communities at risk and the environment.”

If sea level should rise by more than one metre in the south east of England by the end of the century, as predicted by UK Climate Change Projections, today’s coastal protection systems would fail.

“We need to address what the future coastal conditions will look like and how will we protect ourselves and environment against these changes,” added EA.

Eastbourne and Pevensey Bay (including Sovereign Harbour) sea fronts are managed separately for flood risk.

“We know from experience that coastal flood defence work better when organisations work together,” said EA.

“The shingle beaches form part of the coastal flood defence. We currently import and move shingle around the frontages to protect Eastbourne and Pevensey Bay from the sea.”

The current contracts for the beach management come to an end in 2025.

According to EA, this project will take over from the current beach management contracts. There will be no gap in coastal management.

“We understand that the current practices can be disruptive and are not currently as environmentally sensitive as they could be. In the context of the climate emergency we are looking at more environmentally friendly methods.”

The design team has been looking at all possibilities for the future of the coastline. These are a mixture of hard engineering, also know as ‘grey’ solutions and nature based ‘green’ solutions.

Hard engineering ‘grey’ solutions include:

• Revetments,

• Sea walls and embankments,

• Maintain existing defences,

• Groynes,

• Offshore structures.

Nature based ‘green’ solutions are:

• Set back defences and natural processes,

• Working with nature in the marine environment.

These are ideas on what could be used to make the coast more resilient to flooding and erosion. In many locations a number of these possibilities could be used in combination.