Cobnor Point award

Land and Water Services Ltd, alongside Associated British Ports and CH2M, received the award for the £650,000 Chichester Harbour project on Friday. The scheme involved introducing enhanced wildlife habitats in the form of intertidal mudflat and saltmarsh creation, covering some 3.6 hectares.

The project, which was completed in October 2014, also improved the public footpath with the introduction of new footbridges along the sea wall. This also provides the community and visitors to the area with a chance to get up close and observe nature while extending the overall design life of the structure.

Of the Cobnor Point scheme, the judges said:“The positive effects of engineering on the environment were clearly demonstrated by this project, which has brought additional flood capacity whilst also enhancing wildlife habitats and providing new opportunities to observe those animals, birds and plants in their natural environment.”

Suzanne Moroney, Regional Director of ICE South East England, said: “On many occasions, construction and civil engineering is seen as an environmentally ‘negative’ activity, but this project re-emphasises the positive effects of engineering and promotes the opportunities for wildlife to flourish. It is wonderful example of how modern civil engineering can be green, sustainable and ecological”.

Ten other projects received awards, at the ceremony dinner at the Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton, with twenty projects shortlisted in total. The awards were given for projects in the Kent and East Sussex branch and the South Branch, two of the three branches that encapsulate ICE’s South East England Region.

Other marine civils projects which were also winners in the South Branch area included Network Rail’s Coastal Asset Management, which won the award for innovation and Portsmouth Flood Alleviation Scheme, which was awarded the prize for Community Benefit.

By Jake Frith