May 2011
This week marks ten years of the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project.
Broadland, East Anglia, is a unique and environmentally sensitive area, being home to plants and animals that are found in few other places in Britain. It’s also an area where people live, work and play. To the casual observer it may appear to be a natural system and part wilderness but it is actually artificial and the result of man’s intervention over many centuries. Without continued maintenance, the area would flood and change drastically.
Ten years ago the Environment Agency awarded a 20-year contract to Broadland Environmental Services Limited (BESL) to maintain and improve the flood defences. BESL is a partnership of contractor BAM Nuttall Ltd and consultant Halcrow. The project is now nearing the end of the programme of improvement works and moving on to a maintenance phase.
Through this highly successful working relationship over 200km of flood bank has been improved to secure it against breaching in all but the most severe floods. This has reduced the risk to more than a thousand properties and secured protection to 24,000 ha of grazing marsh, arable land and conservation sites. The long-term contract has allowed the Environment Agency to adopt more sustainable and cost effective solutions with a general move away from heavy engineering to softer, greener options.
This week to mark this project milestone a number of activities are planned:
- The ‘Ten years of protecting The Broads - for communities, for wildlife, for you’ event at Norwich’s Forum on Wednesday 1 June and Thursday 2 June will help bring the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project and The Broads to life. It’s designed to encourage visitors to explore the unique environment on their doorstep. Click here for more information.
- On Wednesday 1 June, children from Acle school, who won a competition run by BESL, will be presenting Great Yarmouth MP, Brandon Lewis, with their winning wildlife diary of The Broads. Mr Lewis will then unveil a new information board so people for years to come can learn about the work which has been and continues to be done on behalf of the Environment Agency. Details of the event can be found here.
- Halcrow releases a new short film to celebrate the project team’s achievements. Click here to view.
- UK civil engineering magazine New Civil Engineer (NCE) publishes a special feature focussing on a number of the project’s achievements. Download your PDF copy here. Click the link on the right to visit NCE’s website.
Brandon Lewis commented by saying: “It is good to see this continued care and investment in our local environment and I am pleased to support its ongoing work to ensure a sustainable environment for future generations.”
Roland Grzybek, Halcrow’s Environment Agency client director said, “The Broadland Flood Alleviation Project has set the standard for innovative flood risk management for the United Kingdom in its combination of national, regional and locally based environmental and engineering solutions as well as innovation in procurement. The BESL team has been committed and dedicated to the delivery of the programme of works integrated with their Environment Agency colleagues at Norwich for over ten years and many of the staff have stayed with the scheme over that period determined to see the benefits of many of the award winning projects within the programme of work come to fruition. BESL is immensely proud of the team’s achievement”.
Dr Charles Beardall, Area Manager for the Environment Agency said “The work has been carried out to the highest environmental standards. BESL has also pioneered mitigation techniques to minimise the impact of their work on water voles and reptiles, wherever possible incorporating enhancements to improve their habitat. Working with local organisations, they have also improved access, navigation and angling facilities. All of this has been achieved working within an area with a status equivalent of a National Park, and it would not have been possible without the involvement and support of local people and partner organisations. We’re delighted that many of them will be joining us at the celebration.”
Bob Treadgold, Director for BAM Nuttall and BESL added, “Some of the environmental and health and safety standards established on the project have acted as best practice examples in construction and this is one of the key target areas for continuous improvement in our industry. Broadland is a shining example of where sustainable civil engineering and flood risk management has been delivered in combination to the benefit of people, wildlife and the environment. We are delighted to have been involved in this important and innovative scheme.”