An update on what we are doing at Medmerry and how we are involving people.
Background
Medmerry is one of the stretches of coastline most at risk of flooding in southern England. Following extensive consultation, we recommended in the 2008 Pagham to East Head Coastal Defence Strategy that ‘managed realignment’ was the preferred option for Medmerry. This is where we build new defences inland from the coast and allow a new inter tidal area to form seaward of these new defences. This scheme will provide an improved standard of protection against flooding for infrastructure and local communities.
Given the high risk of existing defences breaching at Medmerry, we are keen to carry out the scheme to improve protection as soon as we can. We have therefore begun to plan the detailed work needed.
The need for new inter tidal habitat to replace losses across the Solent has been recognised as a pressing issue that can be addressed through the scheme planned for Medmerry. This has enabled the Environment Agency to negotiate fair deals with owners to purchase much of the land that will be directly affected by the realignment scheme. We continue to work with the owners of the remaining land within the realignment area identified.
To find out more about the Medmerry managed realignment scheme, in the first instance please check our 'frequently asked questions' which can be downloaded below.
Getting local people involved
We began detailed discussions on the Medmerry managed realignment scheme at a stakeholder workshop on 14 July 2009. A total of 52 people from a wide range of local groups and organisations attended the workshop and helped us set up the "Medmerry Stakeholder Advisory Group" (MSTAG).
The MSTAG has been working with us since then, giving feedback on the designs and helping ensure that the local communities and other stakeholders are well-informed about the scheme. The membership list and terms of reference of this group can be downloaded below.
What happens next
We have used feedback received from members of the public and the MStAG to finalise our scheme design. As much as possible we have included local ideas for access and recreation enhancements, which we discussed with the public at exhibitions held in November 2009. We have recently held another series of exhibitions to share our latest scheme design before we submit for planning permission. Our draft scheme design was available at three public exhibitions on 9, 10 and 12 July 2010. We also shared a visualisation with local residents so that they can see how the completed scheme will work. This shows how water will come in and out of the new inter tidal area. If you were unable to attend you can read about the realignment scheme in the fact sheet below.
The feedback we received at the exhibitions was very positive with the majority of residents voicing support for our design. We have listened to a few outstanding concerns raised at these exhibitions and are using them to finalise our design. We will submit this final design to Chichester District Council for planning permission in late July 2010.
After we submit our planning application, we hope to begin detailed design of the scheme in October, followed by construction in 2011. Before construction starts in Autumn 2011, we will begin to move protected wildlife such as water voles to new areas. This will continue throughout the construction. We plan to finish the construction by the end of 2012.
Please note that our programme is dependent on us achieving certain key items and we review our timetable regularly.
How you can get involved
We are eager to ensure that everyone has had a chance to provide feedback on the scheme. We would encourage you to contact the MStAG organisation that represents your interests. See the MStAG membership list below. You can also email the project team on:
Documents and Events
Our planning application will be available online once the planning application is submitted to Chichester District Council. Meanwhile other materials from the July exhibitions can be downloaded below.
Further information
If you would like to know more about our initial ideas on overall engagement during the Medmerry managed realignment scheme, you can download our draft Community and Stakeholder Engagement Plan below. The plan is expected to evolve as the scheme progresses and following consultation with the Medmerry Stakeholder Advisory Group members. Previous MStAG meetings and events are listed within the document and if you would like copies of previous meeting minutes, presentations or maps, please email us.
- Medmerry MR, Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 50KB)
- Medmerry MR, Stakeholder Advisory Group membership list June 2010 (PDF, 36KB)
- Medmerry MR, Terms of reference August 2009 (PDF, 40KB)
- Medmerry MR, Draft Design from July 2010 Exhbitions (PDF,446KB)
- Medmerry MR, Fact Sheet from July 2010 Exhibitions (PDF,2010KB)
- Medmerry MR, Community and Stakeholder Engagement plan June 2010 (PDF, 68KB)
Please continue to visit this website for updates, or if you need to contact us, our general enquiry telephone line is 08708 506 506 or email:
Page updated: 26 July 2010
