Case studies

Environment Agency: Medmerry Managed Realignment Scheme

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The Brief

As sea levels rise coastal defences are increasingly becoming inadequate, and often need maintenance and re-alignment to protect coastal towns and businesses. A 2008 consultation on the proposed strategy for improving and repairing coastal defences between Pagham and East Head on the West Sussex coast revealed that the local community was highly opposed to the suggested realignment of coastal defences at Medmerry, a small coastal town close to Chichester.

The Environment Agency recognised the need to find a solution that has the support of local stakeholders and the community more generally. Dialogue by Design were contracted to deliver four stakeholder workshops investigating the communities concerns surrounding the proposed works and potential solutions. Dialogue by Design organised, managed and facilitated the workshops to a tight deadline. As a part of this the Environment Agency required four summary reports examining the issues raised, outcomes and actions deriving from the workshops.

The Process

A carefully designed inception meeting as the project commenced was attended by 50 stakeholders. As a result of this meeting the Medmerry Stakeholder Advisory Group (MStAG), a narrowed down group of key stakeholders, was conceived. Small groups enabled highly focussed and efficient discussion, whilst still representing a diversity of local opinions.

The Medmerry Stakeholder Advisory Group met four times. Through careful design and facilitation by the Dialogue by Design team initial reservations and disagreements were resolved, and those most likely to be affected by the proposals had the opportunity to influence the design team.

Each meeting was evaluated and feedback forms and a questionnaire were used to capture stakeholder's comments. DbyD's systems allowed a clear audit trail to be created documenting the stakeholders concerns and the Environment Agency's actions.

The Outcome

As a result of the engagement programme local people and businesses have a much clearer understanding of the physical and technical constraints of the Environment Agency's decisions, and the Environment Agency were able to embrace the community's concerns in the design of their strategy. It is hoped that this mutual understanding will facilitate better working relationships at the implementation stage.

The scheme, which gained planning approval in November 2010, has recently commenced construction.

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Photo copyright: Andrew Hill