ABPmer has teamed up with Capita AECOM to help the Environment Agency undertake a new managed realignment project in Southmoor, Langstone Harbor.
This project will involve building a new seawall at the back of the site and placing a breach in the old seawall to allow the sea to flow gently into the site on each tide.
ABPmer, Capita AECOM and the Environment Agency are working together to develop the scheme design, consult with the community, carry out the necessary impact assessments and secure the required permissions and consents.
Colin Scott, Habitat Creation specialist at ABPmer, said: “To deliver this project with Capita AECOM, we will be drawing upon our combined and detailed experience of managed realignment projects. This will include making best use of our existing tools such as our detailed, calibrated hydrodynamic model of the Solent region along with other tried and tested techniques.”
Background
At Southmoor, the seawalls are in a very poor condition and will continue to be put under pressure in the future as a result of continuing sea level rise, ABPmer said.
The Environment Agency has therefore proposed this initiative to provide sustainable flood and coastal erosion protection while simultaneously creating new coastal habitats. The new wetland habitats will help to replace losses of mudflats and marshes that are occurring across the rest of the Solent.
The project team expects to seek approval from the Planning Authority (Havant Borough Council) and the Environment Agency’s own National Project Assurance Service by the end of 2017.