Canvey Island southern shoreline revetment project
Environment Agency to renew flood defence revetment with improvements to the seafront and shoreline.
A concept sketch of what the proposed works to renew erosion protection on the seaward side of the existing tidal defences will look like once complete
With plans to start in the financial year 2022/23 and last for 2 years, this £35 million project will renew Canvey Island’s existing flood defence revetment along a 3 kilometre stretch of the Island’s southern seafront.
Once completed the Island’s tidal defences will be better protected against erosion for a further 50 years, taking into account the effects of rising sea levels due to climate change.
As well as refurbishing the existing tidal defences, additional enhancements will be made to the Canvey Island shoreline. These will include improved public access along the seaward walkway by providing passing places in narrower areas at the bottom of steps and ramps.
There will be new steps to the beach and foreshore with project information boards and way finding markers also proposed. The surface of the pathway along the landward side of the seawall between Thorney Bay and Chapman Sands will also be improved.
Flowering grass seed mixes will be planted to improve biodiversity along with rock pools in certain locations.
Environment Agency spokesperson Phil Spearman, Flood and Coastal Risk Management Senior Advisor, said:
We are currently developing detailed designs for the revetment. During early autumn 2021 we will build upon recent discussions with targeted sea front businesses to talk to people in the community and explain more about the plans, and discuss and listen to their views.
We have added information boards to our web page with further details of flood risk management on Canvey Island, the scheme’s background and why it is needed. We will provide paper copies on the Island, working with Castle Point Borough and Canvey Island town councils. We will also add a feedback section to our web page, as well as explore ways for people not online to also give us their views.
The Environment Agency scheme will be fully funded by government and the works involved will be carried out as part of the Thames Estuary Asset Management (TEAM) 2100 Programme.
The outline design work was completed in consultation with Castle Point Borough Council and Canvey Island Town Council, as well as members of the Castle Point Regeneration Partnership and local councillors. The project team is keen to ensure that the proposed works align with Castle Point Borough Council’s master planning work along the Canvey seafront.
Canvey Island southern shoreline. The red line indicates the area of revetment that will be refurbished.
Find out more about the Canvey Island southern shoreline revetment project.
Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan
This project is funded as part of the government’s £5.2 billion investment to better protect thousands more homes and businesses from flooding and coastal erosion.
The Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan, published on 29 July 2021, sets out how new flood and coastal schemes will better protect 336,000 properties by 2027, helping to avoid £32 billion in wider economic damages and reducing the national flood risk by up to 11 per cent. This follows the Environment Agency’s successful delivery of the government’s previous £2.6 billion investment between 2015 and 2021, better protecting more than 314,000 homes.
Further information
Why is the Environment Agency doing this work on Canvey Island?
Canvey Island is very low lying. Ground levels are generally below the daily high water level in the Thames estuary so the tidal defences play a critical role to manage tidal flood risk to people, property and infrastructure on the Island.
Sections of the current revetment over the project area date back to the 1930s and need replacing. The existing tidal defences are regularly inspected and maintained by the Environment Agency.
What is being renewed?
The erosion protection on the seaward side of the existing tidal defences, known as a revetment, will be renewed between Thorney Bay and the Island Yacht Club.
Project information boards
The following information boards (pdfs) can be found on the Canvey Island southern shoreline revetment project web page and cover:
- an overview of flood risk on Canvey Island
- a brief summary of the devastating impact of the 1953 tidal surge in the Thames estuary
- tidal defence works on Canvey since 1953 to current day
- an overview of Canvey Island’s current tidal defences
- an introductory overview of revetment
- the proposed new revetment material
Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 programme (TEAM2100)
The Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100 (TEAM 2100) Programme is a 10 year capital investment programme to refurbish and improve existing tidal flood defences. The programme is delivering the flood defence works for the first 10 years of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan. The programme runs until March 2025. TEAM2100 is the single largest flood risk management programme in the UK.
The programme is refurbishing, repairing and replacing the most at risk assets in the Thames Estuary, as part of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan.
The Environment Agency and its contractors are pioneering a new asset management approach through TEAM2100.
Worth over £300 million in total, TEAM2100 is one of the UK government’s top 40 major infrastructure projects. Its scope of works includes completing detailed engineering investigations of tidal structures to understand what their current condition is, and when they might need to be repaired or replaced.