The town of Balivanich which was flooded during the
January 2005 storm. A new rock armour revetment is proposed to
protect against erosion and inundationFollowing
devastating storms in the Outer Hebrides in January 2005 Mott
MacDonald has been working on a range of local coastal protection
schemes to offer greater protection to the surrounding community
and shoreline. We were commissioned by the Western Isles Council,
Comhairle nan Eilan Siar, to help assess coastal erosion impacts
and the mitigation measures required to protect vulnerable
communities and infrastructure.
The Western Isles, also known as the Outer Hebrides, is an
island chain situated off the northwest coast of Scotland. The
storms which occurred on 11 and 12 January 2005 caused wide scale
devastation and were manifested by hurricane force winds and large
waves which battered the coastline. Many parts of the coastline
experienced coastal erosion and inundation of a number of villages
and hamlets. Owing to the storm damage and coastal erosion over the
longer term coastal protection measures need to be implemented in
some locations.
Mott MacDonald was asked to investigate some of the worst affected
areas of the coastlines of Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra on
behalf of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CnES). We investigated the
nature of the January 2005 storm event in the context of longer
term and historical coastal processes and change. In order to apply
for funding for coastal protection schemes, Project Appraisal
Reports were produced for the Scottish Executive. The reports
provided full investigation into each site and an assessment of the
most suitable coastal management options in terms of criteria such
as environmental impact, risk, social needs and economics.
Following the award of £6 million funding for five schemes Mott
MacDonald have proceeded with the production of detailed designs.
This has included consultation with stakeholders and technical
specialists as well as field visits and historical research. The
sites have a huge diversity of coastal erosion issues, ranging from
cliff recession, to dune erosion and coastal encroachment over a
long term. This diversity of issues requires an innovative and well
informed approach so that a variety of strategies, from dune
management and beach recharge to the instillation of rock armour
revetments, can be designed and planned effectively. It is the
intention of all those involved that the proposed schemes have the
best effect on the coastline on which the strategy is implemented;
this includes a small as possible impact on the coastal ecosystem,
coastal dynamics and aesthetics.
Presentation at the ICE: Impacts of Climate Change on Vulnerable Coasts and Management Responses by Peter Phipps [4MB]
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