New challenges for sea defences scheme in Kent

The Lydd Ranges Sea Defences scheme is on the Romney Marsh coastline and shares some of the plans to protect more than 14,500 homes, 700 businesses and nationally significantly infrastructure from flooding.

The sea defences scheme, a complex project, began in May 2021 as part of the Folkestone to Cliff End Strategy (FoCES) involving around 8.2km of beach frontage. The project is being completed by the Environment Agency to improve the existing frontage to maintain sea defences taking into consideration long-term predictions for climate change with a 100-year strategy for protecting the coastline.

Our work has had environmental constraints due to the very special new tenants we have on site, the avocet, a protected wading bird with a breeding season during the winter. As such, the beach is a European protected RAMSAR site, as well as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and National Nature Reserve which means we must wait until the breeding season is over.

One of the main landowners involved is the Ministry of Defence (MoD) which uses the beach as a live firing range, with an exclusion zone 2.5 miles out to sea. The MoD is continuing to conduct live firing operations around the works which certainly keeps things interesting!

Other parties we are working with are the Crown, which owns the foreshore, and the Maritime

Property Action Plans (PAPs)

commissioned to achieve at least EPC Level B

We pride ourselves on being forward-thinking to consider and minimise the impact of our assets on the environment. Working with leading consultants like Fisher German on projects such as this is helping us deliver sustainability solutions across our portfolios”.

Rory Finnan, Director and Head of Asset Management at Chancerygate.

Our sustainable energy team were instructed to perform a desktop analysis of 17 units across two client portfolios in Brentwood & Cardiff to assess their current energy performance.

We made recommendations for building improvements along with providing a strategy for implementation and for transitioning them to at least a Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) level B. Roof-mounted solar photovoltaics (PV) and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points were also considered.

We worked closely with our clients to understand both their requirements and how we could help them to achieve their sustainability goals. By evaluating the current energy performance carbon footprintand ranked assets in priority order for future investment to ensure regulatory compliance and minimise the risk of stranding.

Management Organisation (MMO) due to several deliveries being made by boat – which this year includes 300,000 tonnes of shingle. We also work closely with EDF, which owns Dungeness Power Station based at one side of the site, as well as local businesses, the local community, and councils, along with a specialist consultant to liaise with fishermen in the area.

We are hoping that the new groynes will be completed in the summer with the shingle being delivered early August. This delivery will involve a dredger having a temporary mooring and a temporary pipeline to pump shingle onto the beach. The plan is for the scheme to be finally completed in 2023.

The client was presented with a PAP for each portfolio, with a unit-by-unit review and energy and investment recommendations.

Since launching the Delivering Net Zero (DNZ) service in 2020, a range of companies, including Wesleyan Assurance Society, IO Asset Management and Chancerygate, have already made significant advances in understanding what practical measures need to be undertaken to improve the properties in their respective portfolios.

We’ve completed several portfolio reviews, in each case establishing an energy performance benchmark for how the portfolio currently measures up and how it needs to measure up in time for regulatory deadlines (EPC level D by 2023, Level B by 2030 and net zero by 2050). That allows us to devise a plan for what needs to be done to achieve compliance.