Sandscaping Scheme WINS highest honour at ICE Merit Awards

Bacton to Walcott Sandscaping Scheme has received an Exceptional Merit award for Technical Excellence and Innovation, at the 2020 ICE East of England Merit Awards.

The Merit Awards honour civil engineering excellence by recognising the most innovative, creative, and sustainable contributions to the built environment in the East of England region.

Receiving the highest honour of the 2020 Awards, Bacton to Walcott Sandscaping Scheme is the first of its kind in the UK. Delivered in a public/private collaboration between North Norfolk District Council, the Environment Agency, Shell UK Ltd and Perenco UK Ltd, the nature-based solution drew inspiration from the Netherlands Sand engine.

Cllr Angie Fitch-Tillett, North Norfolk District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Coastal said:

“We were very excited to receive the news that we have been awarded the Exceptional Merit Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers in the East of England region.

 This is in addition to our recent success in winning The British Construction Industry Award for Climate Resilience, and we really are so pleased to achieve this recognition.

The project has taken over six years to complete, highlighting the need to work in partnership with all concerned. From us – North Norfolk Distinct Council as the Coast Protection and Planning Authority, The Gas Site Operators, Consultants, Contractors and very importantly the local village communities.

I have to pay credit to each, and everyone involved, last summer we became a team, and many long lasting friendships were forged. 

Most importantly, the villages have not been flooded and the cliffs are secure despite experiencing some violent storms this autumn, proving the scheme is working well and also providing a beautiful beach for us all to enjoy.”

The sandscaping scheme was designed by Royal HaskoningDHV to fit with the different climate and environment conditions in Norfolk. Close to 1.8 million m3 of sand was pumped on beaches to protect approximately 300 homes from coastal erosion, 100 homes from flooding, and the Bacton Gas terminal which supplies over a third of the UK’s gas supply.

Royal HaskoningDHV’s Project Director Jaap Flikweert said:

“We are very happy to have received this recognition for demonstrating that a large-scale sandy solution was the only way to solve this unsolvable problem. And we are thankful to the community, North Norfolk District Council and all the other private and public partners for helping to make it happen.”

The scheme received the Exceptional Merit Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation, for its ground-breaking approach in a UK first to combat the effects of climate change using natural resources to safeguard vital infrastructure.

ICE East of England Director, Jonathan Baggs said:

“The ICE East of England Merit Awards 2020 highlights the importance of collaboration and ingenuity to deliver leading infrastructure that benefits both the community and the environment.

The 2020 winners are exemplary examples of how civil engineers are tackling the impacts of climate change and improving the safety, wellbeing and mobility of residents across the region”. 

The digital awards ceremony also saw four other infrastructure projects recognised on the evening including West Suffolk Operations Hub, Wallasea Island Manual Handling Equipment Demobilisation, Mill Square, Chelmsford Station and Parkeston Pumping Station.

For more information visit the Institution of civil engineering of website