Contractor awarded £35 million Cardiff coastal defence job
The engineering company Knights Brown, based in Hampshire, has been awarded the contract to build Cardiff’s new coastal flood defence system.
The £35m scheme on the Rover Way foreshore and the banks of the River Rhymney, has been designed to protect properties from extreme weather and rising sea levels for the next 100 years.
Work is expected to start on site later this year and will take around 3 years to complete.
The scheme will see 150,000 tonnes of rock barrier installed along the coast to manage erosion and high tides, sheet piling along the Lamby Way roundabout and rock protection for the Lamby Way Bridge.
Details of the scheme were first made public in April 2021 when Cardiff council requested an environmental impact assessment.
The plans were subsequently approved by the local authority in June 2021.
The Welsh Government will fund 85 per cent of the works with the council paying the remainder.
At risk
Research released last year suggested that Cardiff is the local authority in The UK most at risk of flooding due to the current climate crisis.
According to the research published by Fathom, a Bristol-based flood-mapping business, two other areas in Wales, Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taf, also feature in the 10 most vulnerable areas in the UK.
Fathom claims its mapping model is the first to use climate crisis data to predict which areas will be the most at risk of flooding due to rivers or heavy rainfall by 2050.
It estimates 17.09% of properties in Cardiff are at risk of flooding, an increase from 15.06% in 2020.
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Would be interesting to learn more about how this contract was awarded. Did any Welsh contractors bid for it, if it was a contract open to competition ? What made the successful bidder a distinctly better “choice”? Lots of public money at stake here, more than likely the costs will escalate further by the time the work is concluded.
You’re right. It will probably end up costing at least three times as the original estimate and a complete rip off of our money. Another question: How many “friends” of the government are involved and how much are they benefitting for doing practically sod all?
Before the WG start splashing the cash on this most recent project they should all sit down and consider how past developers and contractors mysteriously go bankrupt after receiving cash. Drip feeding money to these contractors during the work in hand, and its quality of course, is the best way. DON’T HAND OVER LARGE AMOUNTS OF CASH!!!
This company seems to specialise in marine engineering, they are involved in works in Porthcawl and have been awarded Mumbles sea defence works . Plus they are numerous projects where they have worked on docks and harbour facilities. They do not appear to be a developer.
How secure are flood predictions from Bristol-based “Fathom” ? Their model is primarily concerned with riverine and flash flooding. They include ‘extreme’ sea-level data, but so do NRW. They include ‘selected’ climate-change modelling, but so does NRW. I’d expect the Welsh Govt to insist on cross-checking the modelling before committing many £10Millions. Has your reporter sought answers on whether this has been done, rather than the too-usual acceptance of a convenient consultant? Neither Fathom nor NRW appear to predict the wind-driven storm surges up the Bristol channel, which are the main threat this scheme is supposed to prevent – or… Read more »
Here we go again, ‘money for nothing….’ Surely there are companies in Wales who could undertake this work.
Because of lack of training, investments and apprenticeships in Cymru the WG are forced to seek outside contractors and expertise. Another great loss for Cymru especially when £35,000,000 could stay here. That amount of cash could train a lot of our workforce. If ever we have independence will we still seek outside expertise?
Having lived down in St Mellons estate and walked around Peterstone Wentlooge and seen the flood markings on the church from 1607 you can appreciate how vunerable this whole area is. Wether the 1607 flood was caused by a Tsunami or storm/tide combo does not really matter but that extreme events can happen and are more likely with sea level slowly increasing means this is an insurance policy. It would be good if a Welsh company had the contract but I remember seeing a Dutch company with two steam traction engines dredging the Peterstone Gout. Sometimes people with specialist skills… Read more »
Crying shame Welsh Tax Payers money being paid to a Contractor outside Wales