Bringing Seaton’s Regeneration Area Into Use
What happens next?
We wanted to inform you of our proposals to bring forward this exciting regeneration area and gather your views. We hope that you will support our plans to bring about this regeneration in the least impactful way. After gathering local peoples’ feedback, we will then submit a planning application for the installation and operation of the pipeline to East Devon District Council.
Raising the level of the land
The site on Harbour Road has been allocated as a regeneration area by East Devon District Council and Seaton Town Council for redevelopment to include a mix of uses.
Planning permission was given to redevelop this site last autumn for a range of uses including a Tesco supermarket, residential properties, hotel and leisure facilities. One of the requirements from this permission was for the site level to be raised to accommodate the development.
We are proposing to import material and raise the level of Seaton’s regeneration area on Harbour Road. This leaflet tells you about our proposals and aims to answer any questions you may have.
During our last public consultation for the site, many local residents told us that they had concerns about the need to bring fill material to the site by road. We have listened to these concerns and are proposing to use a different method, bringing the material required by sea, and removing the need for nearly 30,000 lorries movements.
Tesco’s proposal to raise the land will have less impact than more traditional methods because:
- Bringing the majority of fill material into the site by sea, rather than by road will significantly reduce the amount of construction traffic on local roads, which was important to local residents
- It will reduce the time it takes to raise the land
Has this method been used before?
Westminister Dredging, a subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster nv are carrying out the work for Tesco. They are one of the world’s largest dredging and marine construction groups, who are currently active in more than 50 countries and have been responsible for world renowned projects including the Channel Tunnel and major works in the Arabian Gulf including in the Palm Island in Dubai.
For further information about the types of projects Westminster Dredging have worked on visit www.boskalis.co.uk
How long will all these activities take?
- It will take about four weeks for the pipeline to be constructed
- The land raising process will take about four weeks to six weeks
- Once the land raising process is complete it will take three weeks for the pipeline to be dismantled
Being a good neighbour
Once the pipeline is constructed and in position it will take 4-6 weeks for the fill material to reach the level required by the Environment Agency. Although this is a very large site, we are mindful that there are residents nearby. We have given careful consideration to the layout of the site and the operation during this process. All of Tesco’s contractors including Westminister Dredging are members of the Considerate Constructors’ Scheme, a recognised industry standard across the UK.
Protecting the environment
Once the fill material has been separated from the sea water, the water is moved to the settlement lagoon to stand. Each day after a period of time in the settlement lagoon, the water will be tested before being pumped back into the sea. This is to check that all the sediment has been removed and that only sea water is pumped back into the sea.
Reducing local congestion
We are aware of local concerns regarding the traffic levels that importing fill materials could have generated in the area. Our proposed method of bring the majority of the fill material by sea will generate significantly less traffic than the traditional ‘by road’ method. This will mean:
- There will be limited movements by road, for example, equipment that can not be brought in by sea.
- We are in discussions with Axmouth Town Council to address highways concerns that were raised when the application was approved.