Protecting communities on the Sussex coast
The Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne Coastal Management Scheme safeguards more than 10,000 homes and businesses along an 8.8 km stretch of the East Sussex coastline. Managed on behalf of the Environment Agency, the scheme uses a combination of beach reprofiling, recycling, bypassing, recharge and monitoring activities to maintain the shingle defences that reduce flood risk and coastal erosion.
Working alongside the Environment Agency and partners, Binnies provides Principal Designer services, helping to coordinate complex activities across the frontage while ensuring that safety, wellbeing and operational resilience remain at the heart of project delivery.
Outcomes at a glance
More than 10,000 homes and businesses protected by the Pevensey Bay coastal defences
49,200 site hours worked with zero lost time injuries and 138 positive safety interventions recorded
Winner of the IOSH Health and Safety Team of the Year Award 2026
The challenge
The Pevensey Bay scheme is not a conventional construction project. Heavy plant operates on a live public beach that remains open to residents and visitors throughout the year, while the team must be ready to respond rapidly to tides, storms and changing beach conditions. At the same time, the coastal defences must continue to perform as intended, protecting thousands of properties from flooding.
Managing these competing demands requires close coordination between multiple organisations and stakeholders, alongside a proactive approach to public safety, workforce wellbeing and environmental stewardship.
Our role
As Principal Designer, Binnies coordinates the wide range of activities taking place along the frontage, bringing together operational teams, contractors, designers and stakeholders to ensure risks are managed effectively and works can proceed safely.
This includes overseeing Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) interfaces, coordinating access requirements and facilitating communication between the many parties operating on the beach, from maintenance and inspection teams to ecological surveyors and asset operators. A collaborative planning system developed by the project team enables activities, plant, welfare facilities and personnel to be coordinated efficiently, improving visibility and supporting safer decision-making.
Working collaboratively with project partners, Binnies helped establish a ‘One Team’ culture that put safety, collaboration and communication at the centre of project delivery.
The team introduced a collaborative planning board that allows site teams, operators and managers to visualise daily activities, welfare facilities, plant locations and workforce deployment. This has improved workforce engagement in planning and strengthened coordination across the project.
Putting safety and wellbeing first
Given the project’s open and highly visible environment, protecting both the public and the workforce has been a key priority.
A dedicated beach manager and team of trained beach marshals provide an additional layer of protection, maintaining radio contact with plant operators and monitoring beach users to help ensure safe operations. The project team also works closely with residents, local groups and beach users through community engagement activities, helping people understand upcoming works and the importance of maintaining the coastal defences.
Alongside physical safety measures, significant emphasis has been placed on workforce wellbeing. Fatigue management, mental health support, flexible working arrangements and proactive welfare initiatives have helped create a positive site culture where everyone is encouraged to speak up, challenge unsafe behaviours and contribute to continuous improvement.
The project team’s collaborative approach has created a strong safety culture aligned with the Environment Agency’s ‘Beyond Zero’ aspirations, encouraging everyone involved to challenge, learn and continuously improve.
Delivering resilience for people and place
The project’s collaborative approach has enabled effective management of significant storm events while maintaining the required flood defence levels across the frontage. Despite challenging conditions and emergency response activities, no flooding of protected properties has occurred during the contract period.
Strong stakeholder engagement and careful operational planning have also helped minimise disruption to local residents, with no complaints received regarding noise, vibration or other environmental impacts associated with the beach management works.
The project team is also helping to build future industry capability through engagement with local schools and students, sharing knowledge and showcasing careers in coastal engineering and infrastructure delivery.
Enhancing lives, communities and the environment
By combining effective flood risk management with strong stakeholder engagement, workforce wellbeing and a collaborative safety culture, the Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne Coastal Management Scheme demonstrates how Principal Designers can add value far beyond regulatory compliance.
Through its coordination, leadership and focus on collaborative risk management, Binnies is helping to protect communities, support the safe operation of critical coastal infrastructure and create a model for future coastal resilience schemes across the UK.
All photos are credited to Environment Agency, Pevensey Bay to Eastbourne Coastal Management Scheme.