Dutch-based Consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV won the first prize in de category 'Innovation in project initiation' of the New Civil Engineers 100 awards. It received the award for its work together with North Norfolk District Council on the innovative sandscaping project on the North Norfolk coast to protect the Bacton Gas Terminal, which supplies 30 percent of the UK’s gas supply.

This year’s annual NCE100 awards were handed out in London on 30 April. New Civil Engineers is the monthly magazine for members of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the UK chartered body for civil engineering in the UK.

Nature-based coastal defence

The British coast near Bacton suffers heavily from erosion and Royal HaskoningDHV designed a sandscaping solution to stop the erosion. The developement of the scheme recently started with the depositing of a large amount of sand in a single beach renourishment operation.
Waves, currents and wind will gradually spread the sand along the shore and nourish the beaches over a long distance. The scheme has taken inspiration from a Dutch sandscaping solution and it will be the first of its kind in the UK and outside the Netherlands.

Stakeholder engagement

According to the jury the project demonstrates the transfer of a best practice in Europe into a UK context. "The firm communicated a developed understanding of the hard business benefits as well as the softer community benefits that will result from their innovative approach", as stated in the jury’s verdict.

For this award category the jury was looking for those firms that put a lot of effort in helping to get projects off the ground by working with the client to refine the concept, help secure funding, win public support and gain planning approval.

Demanding and complex project

Jaap Flikweert (holding the award on top photo), Leading Professional for Flood Resilience at Royal HaskoningDHV was delighted that the Bacton project won the award. "It’s a great reward for the team in what has been a demanding and complex project."

Flikweert praised the opportunity to set up a productive public-private partnership: "We’re using our innovative Dutch sandscaping solution for the first time in the UK". 

"By bringing together all of the various parties involved we were able to extend the project into a highly collaborative public-private partnership, meaning that we can provide further protection for two villages along the coast, as well as the Gas Terminal", Flikweert said.

Last year Royal HaskoningDHV won a NCE100 award in the category Climate Resilience for its work on the Moray Flood Alleviation project.

This news item was originally published on the website of Royal HaskoningDHV