This document summarizes a presentation given about the Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project led by the RSPB. The project involves importing 7.5 million cubic meters of inert construction waste from the Crossrail project to create new coastal habitats including mudflats, saltmarshes, and saline lagoons on Wallasea Island. It aims to compensate for habitat losses, reduce flood risks, provide public access to nature, and demonstrate coastal adaptation to climate change. Work began in 2009 and involves phased construction of sea defenses and habitats over multiple years.

1. Multidisciplinary Research Seminar Series
Organised by Sustainability Science at Southampton (SSS)
www.southampton.ac.uk/sustainability_science & the Southampton
Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) www.southampton.ac.uk/smmi.
World Environment Day Seminar
RSPB Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project:
Conservation for the 21st Century
by Chris Tyas Wallasea Island Project Manager, RSPB
Share your experience: @SustainScience @RSPB_SouthEast #WED2013
Stay in the loop- email: multidisciplinary@soton.ac.uk

2. Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project
Chris Tyas - Wallasea Island Project Manager

3. Summary of presentation
Introduction to the Wallasea Island Wild Coast
Project
History, creation and management of Allfleets
Marsh (Defra Site)
Update on work carried out to date on
Wild Coast Project and a forward look

4. 700ha - 28 million tonnes

6. The Hanson-RSPB wetland project -
creating Britain’s biggest reedbed

7. Managing a changing coast
Threats of sea level rise and climate change –
keeping pace with losses (30,000ha by 2050)
Developing technical solutions
Building public understanding and support

8. Coastal Habitat Restoration
Nigg Bay and Freiston Shore

9. Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project
Four main aims:
To create new intertidal habitats to compensate for losses in the
Crouch/Roach Estuaries and to offset historic losses of coastal BAP
habitats and species in the UK
To avoid the flood damage risks to the Crouch/Roach Estuaries and
Wallasea Island that exist from a future unmanaged breach of the
existing seawalls
To create an extensive area of accessible coastal land for the quiet
enjoyment of nature and open space, reconnecting people with their
coastal heritage
To demonstrate through a large-scale practical example adaptation
to climate change and sea level rise on the coast.
Europe’s largest inter-tidal
habitat creation project

13. Margarethe Kog

20. Wallasea
Allfleets Marsh

23. Saltmarsh
creation

24. Saltmarsh development
August 2008
October 2007
May 2006

25. Allfleets Marsh – progress to-date
Developing very well
Behaving as predicted
Net importer of sediments – 2”/annum
Excellent bird populations
Hit bird targets in Year V – 200%!
93 species of bird recorded using the site
Peak of 12,371 waterfowl cf 34,232 for
Crouch/Roach system

26. 205 Avocets

27. 1592 Dunlin

28. 2689 Lapwing

29. RSPB Wallasea Island
Wild Coast Project

30. 744ha arable/saltmarsh

32. Recent history
Started talking to Wallasea Farms in 2000
Allfleets Marsh site managers since March 2007
750k on studies etc
11 million m3 down to 2 million m3
Option to buy announced Oct 2007
RTE (Regulated Tidal Exchange)
Crossrail – Nov 2008
Managed realignment

33. Crossrail Route

34. 7.20m
THAMES TIDEWAY
ALL DIMENSIONS
REFER TO
INTERNAL
DIAMETER
7.15m
CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK
JUBILEE LINE EXTENSION
CROSSRAIL
VICTORIA LINE
3.81m
Comparative Running Tunnels

36. Excavated Material – Central Section (Tonnes)
Westbourne Park
- Western
Tunnelling Site
Northfleet
- 1.7M T
Wallasea Island
- 4.5M T
Barking
Riverside
- 1.5M T
Limmo - Eastern
Tunnelling Site
- 1.3M T
Other
Stations &
Shafts
PAD/BOS/TCR
Boxes
By Tunnel
conveyor
Early Material
- Elsewhere by
road - 0.6M T
Drive Z – PML
- 0.5M T
Probably by rail
Thames Tunnel
- 0.6M T

40. Summary of Project
Creating a new accessible coastal landscape close to Thames
Gateway
Importing 7.5 million m3 of inert fill by sea from Crossrail
and others reducing water flow on/off to two million m3
Fill placed to produce ground heights required for the
range of habitats – mudflat, saltmarsh, saline lagoon and
brackish marsh/pasture
Site built up in cells – each with own sea defences
Visitor centre, five bird hides and 15km new paths
Sustainable solution for estuary

41. Consents
Planning permission – Essex County Council
Land drainage consent x 2 – Environment Agency (EA)
Discharge consent / Abstraction License exemption – EA
Environment Permit (Waste Management License) - EA
Protected species – Natural England
Footpath closure – Rochford District Council
FEPA / Coast Protection Act x 3 – Marine & Fisheries
Agency
Crouch Harbour Authority Works Licenses x 5
Crown Estates commissioners

42. Licenses
Section 106 agreement - ECC
Defra site access license
UK Power Networks - power cable relocation easement
Environment Agency - partnership
Land deal
Crossrail license

44. Enabling works
Completed in July-September 2009
Phase I of water vole mitigation
Conveyor belt access bank construction
Works completed on 26th September – ahead of time and
under budget

52. Recent and next?
Unloading facility – work started in mid-August 2011 –
completed July 2012
First material to site 22 August 2012
Formal project launch 17 September
Breaching of Cell 1 scheduled for 2015
Phased addition of visitor facilities – difficult to be
precise on timings
Current project end date 2019

57. Badger sett plan

58. Badger sett plan

59. Badger sett plan

60. Badger sett plan

61. Badger sett plan

64. Public Engagement
Consultation events
Talks to interest groups
Site visits for key stakeholders
Events
News updates
Local liaison group

65. Nature Reserve
Current planning permission includes hides, paths and
car parks but excludes visitor centre
Best guess 30-50,000 visitors
Promote access from Burnham
Wilderness experience aimed at local people, families,
community groups and tourists

67. World Environment Day Seminar
Full details & blog available on the Sustainability Science
website: www.southampton.ac.uk/sustainability_science
Stay Connected: @SustainScience @RSPB_SouthEast #WED2013
Stay in the loop- email: multidisciplinary@soton.ac.uk
www.youtube.com/user/MDRatSotonUniversity