The team behind the Hythe Ranges Sea Defences project has been recognised with an Excellent Behaviours Award from the Environment Agency.
The Hythe Ranges Sea Defences project was completed by Mackley earlier this year, working as a subcontractor to Van Oord and on behalf of the Environment Agency.
The project team – comprising contractors, designers, health and safety and supervisory staff, consultants and the Environment Agency team – has been awarded an Excellent Behaviours Award for their work.
In particular, the award recognises their efforts to generate efficiencies (£2.5 million on a £25 million project) and carbon reductions (1,660 tonnes (CO2 equivalent) of carbon saved). The Hythe Ranges scheme – which is located on the Kent coastline between Dymchurch Redoubt and Fisherman’s Beach – was officially opened with a virtual ceremony in March 2021.
With the scheme’s completion, 787 properties are now better protected from tidal flooding for the next 100 years, taking into account climate change and sea level rise.
The works carried out as part of the scheme will help protect the coast against a flood event with a 0.5%, or one in 200 chance of occurring in any year. Before the scheme there was a 5% or one in 20 chance of flooding in any year.
Also better protected with the scheme’s completion is the Ministry of Defence (MoD) firing range at Hythe, which provides a critical training resource for the army and the country’s security.
Work started in spring 2020 and was successfully and safely completed during the Covid-19 restrictions. Due to the rigorous health and safety measures applied, the site team did not have a single positive Covid-19 test.
The works involved:
- Refurbishment and raising of 30 timber groynes
- Construction of a 200m rock revetment made from 37,000 tonnes of imported Norwegian granite
- Recharging the shingle beach with more than 300,000 cubic metres of material.
This work to the beach and groynes has reduced the risk of flooding from the sea, while the new rock revetment helps shield the Grand Redoubt and merges with the existing Dymchurch seafront.
A number of environmental features were introduced as part of the scheme, including the creation of more than 70 rock pools in the rock revetment. Benches made from recycled wood and an information board have also been installed on the Dymchurch promenade for the public to enjoy.
04 May 2021
