UNITED KINGDOM
BLACKPOOL, NEW SOUTH SHORE SEAWALL AND OTHER PROJECTS
A number of studies showed that many of the existing sea and flood defences along the extensive Blackpool frontage were coming to the end of their useful life. Options for their replacement were examined which included the construction of a Seabee revetment at the southern end (see the photograph), that was finally chosen. An added benefit of this scheme was that it lead to a local raising of beach levels by about 2m.
Elsewhere, repairs/reconstruction of the varying designs of the seawalls were the more appropriate option. However, in the Central Promenade area, a more radical approach had to be adopted. Tidal working and the exposed nature of the coast as well as the popularity of the area with visitors, made the work particularly interesting and challenging.
The vertical movement and exposure of large precast sewage outfall pipes after construction and burial lead to the investigation of the liquefaction properties of the local sands under wave and current action. These studies lead to the placement of filter and scour rock over significant lengths of the outfall route as part of the remedial works. |
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BRIGHTON SEA DEFENCES
Examination of files, reports, studies and construction records in relation to costs and potential liabilities.
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CHANNEL TUNNEL MARINE WORKS, SHAKESPEARE CLIFF
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Eurotunnel's Chief Engineer (Marine) for the design and
construction of a very large reclamation platform, on the foreshore
at Shakespeare Cliff, to accommodate the 3.75 million cubic metres
of tunnel spoil generated on the English side of the Channel Tunnel.
As well as housing the spoil, the additional 250,000m2 of land was
used to accommodate both temporary facilities for the six channel
tunnel drives and the permanent facilities required to cool the tunnel.
The remaining platform area is now a nature reserve, known as
Samphire Hoe.
The capital cost of the Works was some £60 million, which involved
technical and financial assessments of permanent and temporary
sea wall designs, initiation and appraisal of over 40 studies by specialist
organisations called in to support designs and of the construction.
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CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK, MEDWAY BRIDGE
Consultant for monitoring the potential impacts of
the bridge crossing of the river Medway, which included the widening
of the adjacent M2 road bridge, before, during and after construction.
Detailed hydrographic, aerial and suspended sediment monitoring
was carried out, initially quarterly prior to construction and then
bi-annually, covering about 10km of the tidal river.
The Client was Union Railways and the period of the services was
from 1996 to 2003. | |
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CIRENCESTER SEWAGE FLOODING
Reporting on of the reasons for a number of incidents of flooding of a basement with sewage, assessing liabilities and making recommendations.
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DAWLISH WARREN SEA DEFENCES
Analysis of exiting reports and data, and recommendations as to the likely future morphological changes and the requirements for future emergency works. |
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DOUGLAS HARBOUR, ISLE OF MAN
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Design guidance for the harbour redevelopment,
including the original breakwater and designed new works,
which were then built.
Work was undertaken on behalf of the Client, Isle of Man Harbour Board,
were for breakwater in deep water, which required hydraulic
modelling for breakwater stability and rock dredging to improve
shipping access . Some 3,000 Stabit units weighing 23t were used,
the capital cost being £11 million.
The work was carried out between 1975 and 1983. |
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DUNGENESS COAST PROTECTION
Project Engineer, Manager and finally Director for the
prediction, monitoring and supervision of beach recharge
around the nuclear power stations at Dungeness. The project has
been on-going since 1965 and has recently included localised
managed retreat.
The work for Nuclear Electric plc (previously CEBG) has involved
annual survey and review of the shingle replenishment, monitoring
of downdrift affects and the borrow area for the shingle recharge
and regular inspections. | | |
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GROUND STABILITY AND BOUNDARY DISPUTE
Single Joint Expert, appointed by the
Court on behalf of the Parties, in a dispute, concerning recent works,
ground stability, groundwater and surface issues and the presence
and removal of asbestos waste materials from the soils.
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HOLDERNESS COASTAL EROSION STUDY


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Project Director and Expert Witness for claims regarding
coast erosion, which followed the construction of coastal defences
at Mappleton on the Holderness Coast in 1990. It was alleged
that they had caused increased cliff erosion over 1km to the
south (downdrift).
The key factors:
Involved analyses of long, short and medium term cliff erosion rates,
analyses of charts, studies of coastal processes, site inspections, coastal
evolution and beach plan shape modelling, a analysis of coastal
erosion from historical maps and aerial photographs, presentation
using GIS, provision of Expert Witness reports, review of other expert
reports and attendance at meetings of the various experts and
Court appearance.
The Client was the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and they successfully
fought the case in the Lands Tribunal.
The period of services was from 1996 to 1999. |
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IDENTIFICATION OF COASTAL FLOOD RISK AREAS IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Project Manager for a high profile project, undertaken for the
Insurance Industry (Association of British Insurers), to determine the risk
of coastal flooding along the entire coastline of England and Wales
and four major estuaries.
The services included flood risk assessment, analyses, software
development, data collection, database development, coastal
engineering studies, numerical modeling analysis, GIS based
production of maps defining the degree of flood risk and flood depth.
The key factors included:
Flood Risk Assessments and Classification, assessment of 2000
defences, software development, data collection, joint probabilities,
mathematical modeling, establish database on marine conditions
and flood defences, GIS mapping, creation of detailed coastal flood
maps, analysis of flood areas and flood depths and the provision of
client support in public relations.
The period of services was from 1992 to 2002 and contained
numerous follow-up studies.
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KINGSNORTH 'B' POWER STATION
I was part of a team appointed by the then Central Electricity
Generating Board (CEGB) to undertake planning, design and site
supervision work for the construction of the new power station and
associated maritime works in the Medway estuary.
The work involved feasibility study, conceptual design and cost
estimates for the cooling water system, including intake, pumphouse,
culverts and outfall, the feasibility study for dredging the Medway
Approach Channel and new berths and an assessment of
maintenance dredging requirements, preliminary designs for a new
Coaling Jetty and heavy load Ro Ro berth and the detailed design
and contract documents for the aggregate import berth
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LAPPEL BANK RECLAMATION, LITIGATION
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Review of all information, studies and give evidence for court case involving the delivery of materials to Lappel Bank. Also appointed as Single Joint Expert.
The Client was Berrymans Lace Mawer, Hillier and Co and the work involved appearing as a witness of fact for Medway Ports Authority, acting as Single Joint Expert for the Court and using GIS to aid my investigations. |
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LEE-ON-SOLENT BEACH NOURISHMENT SURVEYS
Project Director for the combined hydrographic/topographic
surveys required to monitor movement of beach material for
Gosport Borough Council.
The services required periodic surveys along 8km of coast, the
combination of Real Time Kinematic and Differential GPS techniques
and the overlap of bathymetric and topographic data.
The key factors involved were:
Establishment of a permanent control network, up to 4 surveys a
year to monitor seasonal and long term morphology, RTK
techniques to establish topography on a 5m grid, differential GPS
and echo sounder to provide bathymetric data up to 300m offshore,
electronic tide gauge established to monitor water levels throughout
survey and the construction of a digital ground model for data
comparison cross sections and contours.
The period of the services was from 1998 to 2002. | | |
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LEE-ON-THE-SOLENT COAST PROTECTION SCHEME
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Project Director for the study and design and Engineer
for the construction of eleven rock armour groynes and supply of
310,000 cubic metres of shingle beach material at Lee-on-the-
Solent, Hampshire.
The work for the Client, Gosport Borough Council, from 1993 to 1999,
involved the beneficial use of shingle, through the coordination of
two independent contracts, which resulted in a saving of some
£2 million. The entire foreshore at Lee-on-the-Solent was a SSSI,
requiring the close integration of environmental was widely covered
by the local media.
The capital cost was £3.5 million.
The Project won a Civil Engineering Prize.
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MAINTENANCE DREDGING, POLLUTION LEVELS
Advising a Port Authority concerning the levels, types and sources
of pollution found in their annual maintenance dredging quantities,
the sampling requirements, how to deal with it and assisting in
their liaison with DEFRA/CEFAS.
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MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL
Advised on the maintenance costs for the Canal,
which was being used less and less by large ships, but was an
important flood relief channel.
The Client was the Manchester Ship Canal Company.
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MEDWAY APPROACH CHANNEL DREDGING AND RECLAMATION
Project Manager for deepening of the Medway approach channel to accommodate a new port on the Isle of Grain. Dredged material from the channel was used to reclaim land on the Lappel Bank adjacent to Sheerness Docks. I was responsible for preparation of tender documents, the geotechnical design of the reclamation and supervision of the works.
The Client was the Medway Ports Authority (later Medway Ports Ltd) and the work involved the preparation of tender and contract documentation for the 3 million cubic metres dredging and reclamation, a 6 week design period, geotechnical design of reclamation over soft mud deposits, temporary re-routing of drainage outfalls, preparation of cost estimates and the supervision of dredging and reclamation for the £7 million project. The dredging and reclamation encountered significant amounts of Ordnance. | |  |
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MEDWAY DEVELOPMENT BRIDGE
Examination of the potential hydraulic impacts of the piers for a proposed new road bridge, including recommendations for further studies and scour protection.
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PORT EDGAR MARINA VILLAGE
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Project Manager for the design study for Port Edgar, located
on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, west of the Forth Road Bridge.
It offered pontoon access to only limited areas at all states of the tide
and was subject to wave attack.
The Client was the Lothian Regional Council and the work
involved mathematical modeling of marina and coastal environs to
minimize siltation and wave problems, outline design of harbour
breakwater and lock, the optimization of lock location for inner
harbour basin and evaluation of water quality. |
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PORT OF MOSTYN
Expert on behalf of a Joint Venture
Contractor concerning dredging, reclamation and ground stability
problems, which have lead to a claim for about £9 million, in the
construction of a new quay, Ro-Ro facility and terminal.
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PORT OF LIVERPOOL
Examination of the fender and berthing requirements for ferries and the types and the levels damaged sustained as well as the reasons for the damage.
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PORT OF SHEERNESS
Project Manager for the planning, design and
production of tender documentation for new reclamation areas and
their development for increasing the storage capacity of the port.
The work for the Client, Port of Sheerness Ltd, included geophysical
and geotechnical surveys, port planning and design, port design,
geotechnical design to accommodate settlement, reclamation
bunds, reclamation by both dredged material and land based fill,
design of surfacing and parking areas, contract documentation
and site supervision.
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PORT OF SOUTHAMPTON
Investigation into the strengthening requirements in relation to the deepening of the berth pocket adjacent to an existing quay wall that had been strengthened, although also damaged during the process. Investigations included the existing structure and of the future soil conditions.
Investigations of the causes of scour in a berth pocket, its impact on the existing quay wall and recommendations regarding the scour protection that was required.
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REPLACEMENT OF DAMAGED COOLING WATER INTAKE SCOUR PROTECTION
A multibeam echosounder survey one year after the completion of the construction of long sea cooling water outfall revealed extensive erosion of the scour protection rock on the seabed around the structure (see the figure showing the results of the survey). Subsequent surveys showed continuing erosion due to the impact of the local acceleration of the tidal and wave induced currents around the structure.
The impact of waves and currents on the original design and the new design remedial design were examined on a physical hydraulic model. Surveys following the remedial works showed the new scour design to be functioning correctly. |
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RIVER SEVERN FLOODING
Investigation of the design and effectiveness of a newly constructed a flood embankment for properties adjacent to the River Severn.
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SCARBOROUGH SEA DEFENCES
An examination of files, studies, reports, site data and other information on the adequacy and performance of newly constructed sea defences. This includes examining the potential liabilities of the various parties involved.
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SCROBY SANDS WIND FARM
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Studies of environmental conditions in relation to the new offshore wind farm on Scroby Sands, Yarmouth. This included analyses of the historic bank changes and the prediction of future changes over the next 50 years.
Further analyses as to the actual impact of the wind farm on the Bank as well as on coast, following measurements of currents and waves and of the changing bank morphology.
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SINGLE STORM STUDY
As one of a number of follow-up studies for the Association of British
Insurers, I was the Manager for a project establishing the total potential
losses that could occur due to coastal flooding arising from an
individual storm crossing the UK. This mathematical modelling study
provided insurers with estimates of total potential flooding for a set of
actual and hypothetical, but realistic possible storms.
The study, which was done in association with the UK Meteorological
Office (UKMO), included: a review of historical meteorological records
to identify storms associated with reported flooding; establishment of
waves, tides and surges throughout the duration of selected storms;
assessment of the risk of flooding during each storm; reporting
and mapping of results.
The key factors included:
Assessment, mathematical modelling, review of historical records and
flood risk mapping.
The period of the services was from 1996 to 1997. |
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SOUTH WALES, DRAINAGE
Investigation into the claimed damage to a property and its actual boundary, in relation to changes to local drainage.
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SOVEREIGN HARBOUR MARINA SILTATION STUDY
Project Director and Expert on a commission to undertake a
study of harbour siltation for Sovereign Harbour Marina Ltd. The studies
were in relation to the design bathymetry and breakwater length
adopted in original harbour design. Subsequently, there were studies
enabling the Client to obtain a DEFRA dumping licence for the dredged
spoil.
The key factors included harbour siltation investigations, hydraulic
mathematical modeling, environmental impact assessments, FEPA
disposal licence applications, sediment monitoring programmes and
environmental assessments.
The period of the services was from 1999 and is on-going. |
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THAMES GATEWAY

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Preparation of two expert reports covering the dredging,
reclamation and ground improvement methodologies, relating to the
soil types, areas to be dredged, bunding and programming, together
with dealing with ordnance, wrecks and the various licencing
requirements for a Public Inquiry. The quantity to be dredged is
about 30 million m3.
The other expert report concerned the risks to the development
from tidal surges. |
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TYE ROCK MANOR, CORNWALL
Management of the development of a property in
Cornwall on an exposed area of cliff on Cornwall's south east coast.
The development includes the creation of a swimming pool, a studio,
buried within the slope of the upper cliff and a 14m deep shaft for beach
access, which will join into an old mining adit, some 2m above beach
level. The investigations include the suitability of both solar heat and
power, as well as a ground sourced heat pump system for the pool
and electrical energy from wind.
The management requirements include obtaining the necessary
planning permissions for the major components of the development.
The large garden area will be landscaped, which will include an al-fresco eating area, a cliff top viewing area and a number of paths. |
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