Billions of pounds worth of flood defence construction work is welling up as
spending rolls out on the Government’s £5.2 billion programme of flood and
coastal alleviation schemes in England between 2021 and 2027.
The investment is part of the Government’s Flood and Coastal Erosion
Investment Plan. This programme is providing better protection for 336,000
homes through the construction of 2,000 new flood and coastal defences across
England.
Glenigan’s construction market research has identified many of these schemes
ranging from a £3 million scheme in Taunton (Project ID: 22263516) to the £56
million Rochdale and Littleborough Flood Risk programme (Project ID: 21540809).
Many of those projects are delivered by the Environment Agency through its
Next Generation Supplier Arrangements, which have three strands.
Projects valued at up to £250,000 are procured through the Agency’s flood
and coastal risk management operational framework.
Schemes from £250,000 up to £50 million are delivered through a
Collaborative Delivery Framework. This agreement, which runs until next year
but includes the possibility of a four-year extension, involves six regional
teams comprising a contractor and consultant (see below).
Recent projects agreed through this section of the Agency’s framework
include a £9.6 million scheme at West Kirkby on the Wirral, where VolkerStevin
recently started work (Project ID: 16091845).
The third strand of the Agency’s procurement is for projects valued at £50
million or above and are procured independently. One of the biggest flood
defence schemes in the pipeline is the £1.5 billion Lagoon Hull Project. This
will provide improved sea defences through the creation of a lagoon and also
includes a new 11-km southern relief road (Project ID: 19381679).
In Scotland, a host of flood protection projects are also moving forward.
These range from an £800,000 scheme at Kinross on Tayside (Project ID:
22224195) to East Lothian Council’s plans to spend £50 million on the
Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme, which has been the subject of a recent
public consultation (Project ID: 21534403).
The appointment of a contractor on the £27 million Millport Flood Protection
Scheme is imminent according to Glenigan with work due to start this Autumn
(Project ID: 16423740).
Elsewhere, Dawson Wam was recently confirmed as contractor on a £9.3 million
flood protection scheme at Campbeltown in Strathclyde and will start work this
month (Project ID: 20253081).
In Wales, the Welsh Assembly agreed in March to provide £214 million for
flood protection work over the next three years.
Schemes are already coming on stream. Denbighshire Council gave planning
permission on July 13 for the Central Rhyl Coastal Defences Scheme to protect
2,500 homes (Project ID: 21058712). Balfour Beatty will start work early next
year working with Jeremy Benn Associates.
A £12 million plan to provide coastal protection for the Mumbles in Swansea
is also in the procurement pipeline after securing planning permission (Project
ID: 21464653).
As summer ends and another winter looms, spending on flood protection is
being pushed through across Britain and is providing a swathe of opportunities
for contractors.
