Projects
Aerial photography courtesy of Mike Page
Covering 30,000 hectares (ha) (74,141 acres (ac)) of environmentally and economically sensitive land in the east of England, this program has provided sustainable and affordable, long-term flood defenses for rural communities – ensuring the protection and improvement of habitat for rare and endangered species and protection for some of the most productive farmland in the U.K.
The £110 million ($150 million), outturn cost in 2021 £140M ($190M), contract was awarded as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme by the in February 2001 to Ò»ÌÇÐÄlogoÃ×·ÆÍà as consultant and as contractor, working together in a joint venture as Broadland Environmental Services Ltd (BESL). The program’s main purpose was to provide a strategic approach to improving the Broadland flood defenses while engaging key stakeholders and the local community.
The program area is located wholly within the Norfolk Broads river system, an extensive area of wetland with a status equivalent to that of a National Park. Program focus is to improve and maintain the flood defenses along the tidal reaches of the Rivers Yare, Bure, Waveney and their tributaries in Norfolk and North Suffolk. As well as the 28 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the flood defenses protect 24,000ha (59,305ac) of agricultural land, 1,700 private properties, five previously undefended communities, rail and road infrastructure systems, important archaeological and built heritage structural remains, and several recreational facilities.
A strategic partnership approach for better outcomes
Construction of major improvement work was completed in 2017, with maintenance continuing to May 2021. The program has come to its 20th and final year of implementation, having achieved its objectives of protecting homes and farmland from flooding, while also protecting and improving habitat for rare and endangered species. Over 28 kilometers (km) (17 miles (mi)) of hard erosion protection mainly steel sheet piling has been replaced by wide reed beds through realigning (setting back) the flood bank to create more sustainable assets. This achieved a key project objective. These setback areas provide over 500,000 cubic meters for dredging disposal for the Broads Authority. Over 3 km (nearly 2 mi) of overhead electric cables are now underground, improving landscape and making the area safer for farmers and anglers. There are enhanced mooring facilities, improved navigation of channels and new slipways for boaters; new platforms for anglers, and 100 km (62 mi) of upgraded footpaths for everyone to enjoy the area.
The success of the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project demonstrates that large-scale improvement schemes that have a strategic approach to improving existing flood defenses can be accomplished within a nationally and internationally important wetland area. Long-term collaborative schemes that involve key stakeholder groups and landowners in detailed phases of public consultation can enable the development of partnership projects. These schemes achieve the desired objectives for biodiversity while reducing disturbance to important and notable sites.
