Client
Savills
Location
Medmerry, Sussex
Core services
Planning assessments | Numerical modelling
Medmerry Park is a holiday village set out within an 80 acre country estate on the Sussex coast. Whilst this idyllic location next to the sea is perfect for holidays, an evolving shoreline and the inevitable consequences of climate change meant that the planned development needed to address the risk of flooding from the sea and from watercourses within the site itself.
Considerations
From a flood risk perspective, this was an incredibly challenging site with the risk of flooding from the coast being compounded by the risk of fluvial flooding from watercourses that run directly through the site and discharge to the sea. This project drew on the specialist skills of our flood risk consultants, coastal and drainage engineers as well as our in-house numerical modelling resources to identify all of the potential mechanisms of flooding, mitigation measures to reduce risk and a detailed strategy for protecting the site from flooding for the next 100 years.
Numerical Modelling
Nearshore wave climate analysis within the harbour undertaken using Boussinesq modelling, suite of wave overtopping models used, 2D hydrodynamic TUFLOW model used to determine flow paths and new flood gate design.
Coastal Morphology
The shoreline between Selsey Bill and the entrance to Chichester Harbour has been subject to storms and roll-back for centuries and Medmerry in particular has an extensive history of flooding, erosion and breach. The management of coastal flooding along this frontage is therefore intrinsically linked to the future evolution of the shoreline. One of the key elements of this project was therefore to gain an understanding of how the shoreline and in particular the shingle barrier beach will evolve over the next 100 years. The response of the beach to extreme storm events was simulated using numerical models, and in combination with the longer-term predictions of the shoreline evolution, this information was used to understand how the protection provided by the natural beach will change over time.
The outcome
From the outset, our project team engaged with the Environment Agency to ensure that our methodologies and strategic planning for the management of risk at this site were supported. As a result of ongoing consultation, and following the technical validation of our wave and hydraulic modelling, the Environment Agency confirmed that it had no objections to the proposals for the redevelopment of the holiday park.
