East Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme
Framework: SCAPE Civil Engineering
Sector: Coastal and Flood
Project value: £23.2m
Completed: March 2022
Savings in client costs: £862k
Tonnes of rock armour: 127,500
Rock revetment materials sourced locally: 100%
Waste diversion from landfill: 99%
Local subcontractor spend within 40 miles: 99%
Work experience provided for local people: 191 days
CCS score: 45/50
New jobs created: 8
Local employment within 40 miles: 85%
This is one of our largest Coastal Risk Management projects and underlines our commitment to tackling the direct consequences of climate change through reducing the risk to life from flooding. Thanks to this scheme, residents and businesses will have greater peace of mind when it comes to the risk of flooding in this area.”
Lesley Griffiths
Minister for the Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Welsh Government
Coastal defence upgrades guarding Rhyl from wave overtopping and providing a 1 in 200-year standard of protection.
Living and working in a coastal location can feel like a reward - but it doesn't come without risk. Rhyl is a seaside town on the coast of Denbighshire. The Garford Road area of East Rhyl was protected by a number of historical coastal defences, which were estimated to provide a 1 in 50-year Standard of Protection. In the past, these defences have overtopped, causing extensive flood damage to the local area.
The East Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme is led by Denbighshire County Council, with support from the Welsh Government. Balfour Beatty, working through SCAPE Civil Engineering, has been appointed as the main contractor to deliver the Coastal Defence Scheme. They are currently working with Denbighshire County Council, and the Environmental and Engineering Consultancy JBA Consulting through early design and development works for the site.
The project will involve the construction of a 600-metre rock revetment, sea wall and beach recharge at Splash Point heading East.
Rock armour was chosen as the most suitable method of coastal protection due to its suitability for highly exposed areas. It is relatively inexpensive but very effective at absorbing and deflecting the energy of the tide. The gaps between the rocks slow down the flow of the water meaning it has less erosive energy, and the risk of wave overtopping is substantially reduced.
Accelerating the project using the SCAPE framework, the client saved 16 weeks in programme time from concurrent planning and marine consenting, and £862k in costs including procurement and project management.
As an exposed coastline, the primary source of flooding in the area is wave overtopping. Flood modelling has shown that wave overtopping at East Rhyl is set to increase due to:
- The lowered effectiveness of existing defences as their condition declines and eventually collapses
- Climate change
- The lowering of beach levels bringing larger nearshore waves
Denbighshire County Council needed to upgrade the current coastal defences to provide a 1 in 200-year Standard of Protection and substantially reduce the risk of damage to homes and businesses.
Rich in marine archaeology, the East Rhyl coastline contains ancient fish traps, a submerged ancient forest, and shipwreck that all provide a glimpse into areas distant past.
It is also in close proximity to Liverpool Bay, a Special Protection Area which is classified for the protection of:
- Red-throated diver
- Common scoter
- Little gull
- Common Tern
- Little Tern
- Internationally important waterbird assemblage
Early engagement with local universities and environmental institutions enabled Balfour Beatty to understand ecological sensitivities in the area and incorporate mitigation measures into the environmental impact assessment to protect and preserve the historic underwater heritage.
When completed, the East Rhyl Coastal Defence Scheme will be one of the largest coastal defence schemes undertaken in Wales.
The rock armour revetment will provide a 1 in 200-year Standard of Protection against storms and the impacts of climate change, reducing the risk of coastal flooding to 472 properties in the town.
Ensuring that a legacy is left for the local community, and to support the local economy, the 127,500 tonnes of rock armour that is needed to complete the project will all be sourced from four local quarries.
I am very pleased to be in Rhyl to see how this major coastal scheme is progressing and to hear how it will reduce flood risk to hundreds of homes and businesses in the area. I am especially pleased to hear that, thanks to the local authority and contractors, work on this key coastal project has been able to continue safely throughout the COVID-19 crisis."
Lesley Griffiths
Minister for the Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Welsh Government
Lesley continues:
"This is one of our largest Coastal Risk Management projects and underlines our commitment to tackling the direct consequences of climate change through reducing the risk to life from flooding. Thanks to this scheme, residents and businesses will have greater peace of mind when it comes to the risk of flooding in this area.”
The project's target social value focused metrics include:
- 100% adult employment opportunities advertised locally
- 95% waste diverted from landfill as a minimum
- 75% of total spend with local supply chain
- 85% of total spend with SMEs
- 16 weeks programme time saved from concurrent planning and marine consenting
- £862k savings in client costs through utilisation of the Scape Civil Engineering framework, including procurement and project management
99%
waste diverted from landfill
9.10
customer satisfaction score
99%
local spend within 40 miles
In collaboration with:
Project gallery
The project includes a 600-metre rock revetment, sea wall and beach recharge
The rock armour revetment will provide a 1 in 200-year Standard of Protection
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