Lessons Learned
This project has benefited greatly from the detailed investigative work and consultations that were undertaken by DEFRA as part of the site selection, scheme design and impact assessment work as well as for the preparation of the monitoring programmes. In particular, an extensive consultation with statutory authorities and locals was carried out in the early stages of the process (prior to the final selection of the Wallasea site when two or three potentially viable options had been identified) to seek opinions and also to help scope any future assessment process.
However, the need to find a relatively large site that met all the requirements involved a long-term and costly exercise. This is a process that could be greatly accelerated using by the application on ongoing measures to develop integrated flood management strategies in the coastal zone and with greater communication between stakeholders and landowners.
This project has also benefited from having a full time project manager (Mark Dixon) with supporting teams including representatives from statutory and non-statutory authorities and these aspects have enabled problems to be foreseen and rapidly addressed. The team approach has also allowed innovative new design elements to be identified which should provide high value at low cost (e.g. the island features in the site and a new ‘heterogenic’ borrow-dyke design).
The final lessons will be obviously only be learned after realignment and during the ongoing monitoring and management work. Details about these will be presented on this page in the near future and will include information on:
1) The Environmental Impact Assessment and Planning Process;
2) Best Practice for Consultations;
3) Numerical modelling and the use of regime tools;
4) The use of maintenance dredge arisings for sediment recharge.