Shoreham

At Shoreham-by-Sea, plans for flood defences and protection against flood damage have been much publicised over recent years. The Environment Agency has been forced to act, as the River Adur is prone to flooding during storms. As well as this, there is a historic seafront and low-lying section of the town, where public access and cycle routes are under threat from the usual perils of being on the coast.

Leisure opportunities, strengthening flood defences and creating sustainable modes of transport, are some of the features being considered as part of an ambitious project, to make the Shoreham environment more resilient to the consequences and conditions of our changing climate. KITE Projects is involved in helping to make the masterplan and vision a reality.

At Shoreham, we were asked to design a solution that:

• Is compliant with relevant British Standard including loading performance

• Has a specific visual appearance in line with the architect’s vision

• Is based on modular parts that required no on-site hot work

• Has short production lead times

We resolved these challenges with our design which incorporated the following solutions:

• Use of high-grade steel to improve performance and checking engineer to provide independent third-party assurance

• Sourced specific parts (a certain diameter sphere) and powder coating to realise the architect’s aspirations

• Use of proprietary product parts that required no welding, and that were available ‘off the shelf’

Climate change is making Shoreham and many other seaside towns more and more vulnerable to rising sea levels, and it is vital that projects like the one at Shoreham are undertaken in the future. By working in collaboration, KITE Projects offer design solutions that support environmental sustainability.