Pevensey Bay Sea Defences

Pevensey Bay's Sea Defences consist of a shingle bank that extends for 9km between Eastbourne and Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex.

Immediately inland there is an area of some 50sq.km that includes over 10,000 properties, several caravan parks and important road and rail links. It is also home to the ecologically sensitive Pevensey Levels, which would be inundated by salt water every high tide if the defences were permanently breached.

The Pevensey BayContract is the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) flood defence scheme to be let in the U.K. and, as a pathfinder project (HM Treasury designated), its success or failure is likely to be significant in future flood defence procurement policy.

The Pevensey Coastal Defence consortium was formed purely for the Pevensey contract, and on 1st June 2000 signed a 25 year deal with the Environment Agency that guarantees defences are maintained until at least 2025.

A major consideration for the Agency was the development of a sustainable management policy that was economically justifiable, environmentally acceptable and which takes due regard of natural coastal processes. The PPP contract meets all these criteria and will help define future coastal management strategies throughout the UK.