Upgrading the Coastal Defenses in Essex

Work is underway on a £2 million scheme to refurbish the flood defense embankment in Stansgate, Essex, offering a higher level of protection to people living nearby, informs the Environment Agency.

The work is taking place along a stretch of coastline west of the Stansgate Abbey Road, north of Steeple, and is expected to last until December.

The scheme, which has a budget of over £2 million, will ensure the embankment continues to reduce the risk of flooding to more than 200 properties, including those in the nearby village of St Lawrence.

Environment Agency contractors JBA Bentley are removing the old concrete scour protection from the embankment and replacing it with a specialist mix of stone and asphalt (OSA).

The EA project lead Robert Brown said: “This work will improve the condition of the defense and will reduce the need for maintenance works for many years to come. For example, the old concrete blocks will be placed at the bottom of the seawall to act as a wave break and habitat, which will remove the need to take them away by lorry.”

The work is being complemented by a similar scheme undertaken by the landowner to repair adjoining defenses.

Nationally the Environment Agency is investing £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021, delivering more than 1,500 projects, to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding and coastal erosion.