Member Article

Thomson Habitats wins Shoreham Adur flood defence work

Thomson Habitats, the terrestrial arm of leading ecology consultancy, Thomson Ecology has won the contract to work on Shoreham Adur Tidal Works scheme following a competitive tendering process. The team will be working with contractors J T Mackley & Co on the contract.

The £25m Environment Agency scheme consists of improvements along both banks of the River Adur stretching over 7 km between Shoreham Fort and the A27 in Sussex on the western reach, and from Coronation Green to the A27 on the eastern reach. The proposed flood defence is a major project initiated as a result of the government’s National Flood Resilience Review (NFRR).

Welcoming the news, Dave Grimmond, Manager of Thomson Habitats said:

“We have already done some early work with J T Mackley & Co on this project so we are delighted to be brought back on board for this new contract which will enable us to work across the full site on a range of ecological mitigation and biodiversity compensation works. We know that the site is home to large populations of reptiles which require an extensive translocation process, including a two-cut phased vegetation clearance technique used on all areas of suitable habitat. A network of temporary and permanent reptile fencing was installed previously to aid in the translocation process, with many of the species being relocated to the newly created on-site receptor area. We will be continuing this process alongside other work.”

The work will include:

• Phased vegetation clearance along several reaches using a combination of brushcutters, chainsaws, woodchippers, and track loader with mulcher
• Temporary and permanent reptile fencing
• Destructive search (a process where the vegetation is cleared and then the top layer of soil is scraped to search for a variety of protected species) of several reaches
• Creation of a reptile receptor habitat using turf translocation techniques and site won logs for hibernacula
• ·Tree felling
• Thomson Interactive Mapping (TIM) displaying areas on the site which underwent approx. 2.8km of phased vegetation clearance, 1.9km of which was destructively searched.

Tony Battrick, SATW Construction Manager, J T Mackley & Co

“Thomson Habitats have assisted us with ecological mitigation works on the SATW project from the early stages. Our positive experiences of working with them on previous projects meant that we had confidence in their capabilities. During their time on site they’ve worked hard to make sure that the works have been completed to the required deadlines. With the complexities of this project creating obstacles along the way, Thomson fully grasped their role as ecological contractors on site and played an important part of the overall works. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with Thomson Habitats.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Thomson Ecology .