24-Jul-2006
- Excellence in design and project management
has resulted in the Environment Agency’s multi-million
pound Broadland Flood Alleviation Project, Norfolk,
being short listed for the prestige 2006 Prime
Minister’s Better Public Building Award.
The ‘Better Public Building
Initiative’ was launched by the Prime Minister,
Tony Blair, in 2000. It aims to encourage the
adoption of quality design principles in all new
public buildings, regardless of size and cost,
by promoting the need for, and benefits of, well
designed public buildings. Now in its sixth year,
the award recognises excellence in design quality
and procurement practices and is awarded annually
to new projects commissioned by central or local
government and paid mainly with public funds.
"Britain has benefited
from a host of new landmark buildings. Now we
need to apply the same energy and imagination
to the tens of thousands of everyday public spaces
which play such a vital role in all our lives,"
explained the Prime Minister.
"I am determined that good
design should not be confined to high profile
buildings in the big cities. All users of public
services, wherever they are, should be able to
benefit from good design."
The £100m Broadland Flood
Alleviation Project is a 20-year PFI/ Public Private
Partnership scheme to replace old sheet piled
defences that have reached the end of their useful
life with a softer, more-sustainable reeded edge,
and comprises 40 individual flood defence compartments.
Compartment 11, costing £3.8m, has been
nominated for the 2006 Prime Minister’s Better
Public Building Award.
The project started in 2001
with the appointment of Broadland Environmental
Services Ltd (BESL); a joint venture between two
civil engineering companies: Edmund Nuttall Ltd
and Halcrow Group Ltd, both highly experienced
in the design and construction of flood defence
work.
"About 21,000 hectares
of land within Broadland are susceptible to flooding
and this area is protected by around 240km of
flood defences, "explained Broadland Project
Manager Paul Mitchelmore.
"These defences are largely
earth banks with long lengths of steel sheet piling
installed in front of the banks to resist the
undermining effects of the river currents. The
earth banks have been subject to high levels of
settlement and general deterioration, and the
sheet piling is expensive to maintain and has
a relatively short life in the tidal waters of
the Broadland rivers.
"The objective of the project
is to reduce the risk of the defences breaching,
whilst moving towards a more natural flood defence
system. This involves constructing new flood banks
typically 20-30m back from the river’s edge. The
original earth bank is removed, and the area between
the new bank and the river, known as the rond,
is re-shaped to encourage reed growth. The new
rond acts to protect the flood defences from erosion
by the river and allows the steel piles to be
dispensed with.
"As a bonus, the ronds
are extremely valuable for wildlife biodiversity,
attracting scarce species such as Marsh Harriers.
Landscape improvements are also being achieved
with the canal-like appearance of the rivers edged
by the sheet piles being replaced with softer,
more natural vegetated fringes."
The engineering task required
for the project is significant, not least because
its falls within one of Europe’s most important
wetlands. The area is equivalent to a National
Park status and much of it is designated for its
local, national and international nature conservation
value as Site of Special Scientific Interest,
Special Protection Area for birds, Candidate Special
Area of Conservation, and a RAMSAR wetlands site
of international conservation importance.
"In addition, all the rivers
are navigable with high levels of seasonal boat
traffic. The local economy is dependent upon minimum
disruption to riverside access, which brings further
constraints to the works. The needs of anglers
and ramblers also have to be taken into account,"
added Mr Mitchelmore.
"The relationship with
local people and the community was critical to
the success of the project and the long-term nature
of the project has allowed the team to form good
relationships with the local communities and the
other many and varied interest groups. The scheme
succeeded thanks mainly to the collocation of
contractor, designer and client so issues could
be sorted out quickly and efficiently, but also
reflected a long-term strategic approach."
The Better Public Building Initiative
Award is jointly sponsored by the Commission for
Architecture and the Built Environment and the
Office of Government Commerce. It is part of the
British Construction Industry Awards and the winner
will be announced at a ceremony in London on October
26, 2006.
This year 14 schemes are short
listed for the award from a total of 137 entries,
with contenders from England, Scotland and Wales.
They include the National Assembly for Wales,
Cardiff, Jamestown Viaduct, Fife, Paddington Bridge,
London, and the M25 Junction 12 - 15 widening
and spur road. Previous winners have included
the Jubilee Library, Brighton, the Tate Modern,
London, and the A650 Bingley Relief Road, Yorkshire.
CABE champions the creation
of great buildings and public spaces. It is a
non-departmental public body set up by the government
in 1999. Through public campaigns and support
to professionals, CABE encourages the development
of well-designed homes, streets, parks, offices,
schools, hospitals and other buildings. The Office
of Government Commerce is part of HM Treasury
and works with central civil government to achieve
best value for money in commercial activities.
‘This year’s shortlist shows
the depth of quality we are now achieving across
a wide range of public sector building projects,
including many with a complex, multi-functional
brief," added the chair of CABE, John Sorrell.
"Following the recent launch of CABE’s campaign
to highlight the impact of bad design on people’s
lives and the waste of money that it causes, it
is reassuring to see the public sector producing
well designed projects that improve public service
delivery.
"The irony of water presenting
a problem for the Norfolk Broads was not lost
on us. The thorough analysis informed an effective
but sensitive response."
The Broadland Flood Alleviation
Project has already won the national Contract
Journal Construction Award for Public Private
Partnership/Private Finance Initiative.
Head Office Press Office
