The project was to deliver new coastal defences to Milton Common, located on the east coast of Portsea Island, Portsmouth. The defences provide a 1:500 year standard of protection to the community of Milton including the Milton Common local natural reserve and will prevent a former landfill being eroded into the internationally environmentally designated Langstone Harbour. As part of the work Great Salterns Quay was removed. The quay was a 2,500m2 derelict loading jetty which had been out f use for many years and had fallen into disrepair. The quay had high potential to contain hazardous material.
The new coastal defences comprised of: 700m of new rock revetment along the coastline, 1,000(?)m of set back flood embankments and associated landscaping and replanting works.
The project required heavy plant and machinery to haul across a large construction site with an area of over 30,000m2, the site was heavily environmentally designated, one of the few green open spaces in a densely populated city and working very close to residential properties. Large portions of the works were constrained by tides and significant environmental mitigation was required throughout the construction phase.
The ESCP are a partnership team between four local authorities (Portsmouth, Gosport, Havant and Fareham). This delivery model gives each authority access to a team of 40 engineers, ecologists, coastal scientists, surveyors and project managers who manage the coast on behalf of all four partner authorities.