The Awards ceremony, organised by the Environment Agency, was held as part of the Flood & Coast conference and exhibition at the Telford International Centre on 8th June.
Portsmouth City Council and Coastal Partners were recognised for the North Portsea Island Coastal Defence Scheme as winners of the ‘Coastal Management’ category. The success centred on the scheme’s ‘Ecoformliner’ as a leading example in environmentally focussed flood defences.
The Coastal Defence Scheme is the UK’s first large-scale application of an Ecoformliner. The Ecoformliner is a reusable mould that creates a textured finish on concrete seawalls that helps to improve habitats for marine plants and animals.
Lyall Cairns, Head of Service at Coastal Partners remarks
“These flood defences have the potential to become a blueprint for future environmentally driven sea defences. As a ground-breaking ‘Greening the Grey’ solution, they benefit the local ecology, adapt to climate change and protect the community. I’m immensely proud of the efforts all the team and our partners have put in to bring this project to life”.
The Ecoformliner delivers co-benefits for biodiversity and the resilience of the wall, increasing the sustainability of the project. Its design is based on leading UK eco-engineering science, and it encourages marine vegetation to take hold. The vegetation reduces salt ingress and egress to the wall by retaining a more constant moisture level and surface temperature during low tides. This consistency helps to lessen the weather-related deterioration which occurs in coastal defences over time.
Ecoformliner wall installed as part of the North Portsea Island Phase 4 Coastal Defence Scheme
