25. 28th March 2018 - 'Public exhibition for Sidmouth and East Beach Management Scheme to be held at Kennaway House Sidmouth, 19 April 2018'
Local people will shortly be able to see the progress that has been made by East Devon District Council on the outline design for the Sidmouth and East Beach Beach Management Scheme at a public exhibition, which is taking place at Kennaway House, Sidmouth, on Thursday 19 April 2018, from 1pm to 7pm. The scheme’s aim is to reduce the risk of flooding to Sidmouth and to reduce the rate of erosion on East Beach.
Over the past nine months, the council’s consultants Royal HaskoningDHV have been developing more detailed models of flood risk and the movement of shingle in response to storms to develop the outline design for the scheme.
This information has been used to develop the preferred option from the Beach Management Plan, which was to add one or possibly two rock groynes on East Beach, modify the River Sid training wall (for improved maintenance access to East Beach), and to recharge (add more shingle) and recycle (move shingle East to West periodically) over the lifetime of the scheme.
Based on the more detailed investigations to develop the Beach Management Scheme, the design has evolved slightly. It is thought that a modest increase in height of the existing splash wall would be helpful in managing the risk of flooding along the main Sidmouth seafront, and that maintenance access to East Beach may be better achieved by keeping the training wall in its present configuration and possibly adding an access ramp.
Royal HaskoningDHV will be on hand at the public exhibition to answer questions about the outline design, together with members of the project steering group who have also been invited to help explain the background to the project and their role in getting the project to this point.
Devon County Council will also be displaying information about the replacement Alma Bridge, in advance of submitting its planning application.
Cllr Tom Wright, East Devon’s portfolio holder for the environment and chair of the BMP steering group, said:
“I hope that people in Sidmouth will come along and see the progress that has been made on the project, which aims to reduce the risk of flooding to many homes and businesses in Sidmouth. The exhibition will provide a lot more detail about what the scheme may look like and there will be plenty of project team members plus our consultants Royal HaskoningDHV on hand to answer any questions.”
Alexander Lee, Engineering Project Manager, Royal HaskoningDHV, said:
“The exhibition is a really good opportunity for us to update people on what the modelling work is telling us and how it is informing the outline design process. We’re looking forward to engaging with the local community and will be on hand to answer any questions they may have.”