19. 11th May 2017 - 'Sidmouth Beach Management Scheme contract authorised by East Devon councillors'
At a meeting of Cabinet on Wednesday 10 May 2017, East Devon District Councillors approved the award of contracts that will allow investigatory work to be undertaken that will assist in the production of an outline business case for Sidmouth’s Beach Management Scheme.
The next phase of the project will be undertaken by Royal HaskoningDHV, who successfully tendered for the work, following evaluation by East Devon and the Environment Agency.
Royal HaskoningDHV will carry out the outline design, which will include surveys of the seabed, sampling of the sediment, monitoring of currents and modelling. The information they accrue will help them produce an outline design for the scheme that will then need to be approved by the Environment Agency.
Completion of the outline business case is planned for Summer 2018.
Surveying of the seabed and sediment sampling is being procured through Plymouth Coastal Observatory who manage regular monitoring of the coastline around the South West of England.
Royal HaskoningDHV’s predecessor undertook the design of the Sidmouth Coast Protection Scheme in the 1990s and therefore know the site well. They have recently successfully completed similar projects around the UK coast, including numerous projects in Devon and Cornwall for the Environment Agency, as well as coastal protection works at Borth and Lowestoft.
Sidmouth’s Beach Management Scheme will not be able to go ahead unless an estimated £3.3m of partnership funding can be sourced. If requisite funding is available, the earliest construction of a scheme on site is likely to be Spring 2019.
Mark Williams, the Chief Executive of East Devon District Council, said:
We’ve had an excellent response to our call for tenders for the next stage of this exciting project, and we’re delighted to be working with Royal HaskoningDHV who have an excellent track record for delivering Coastal Protection Schemes.