Southsea Flooding and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Scheme

Southsea Flooding and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Scheme Public Consultation Report 3 rd November 29th December 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 1.1 Purpose of the Report... 3 2 PUBLIC CONSULTATION... 4 2.1 Overview... 5 2.2 Summary of Exhibition Events... 5 2.3 Exhibition Events Content... 8 2.4 ESCP Website and Social Media... 10 2.5 Advertisement Flyers... 11 2.6 Advertisement Posters... 11 2.7 Unmanned Displays... 11 2.8 Southsea Neighbourhood Forum... 12 2.9 Press Work... 12 2.10 Councillor Engagement... 12 2.11 Wider Stakeholder Engagement... 12 3 WHAT THE PUBLIC SAY QUESTIONNAIRE FEEDBACK... 13 3.1 Summary... 13 3.2 Response to Short-List of Options... 13 3.3 Coastline Priorities... 14 3.4 Funding and Contributions... 14 3.5 Enhancements... 15 4 COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC... 16 5 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT... 16 2

1 INTRODUCTION On behalf of Portsmouth City Council, the Eastern Solent Coastal Partnership (ESCP) is developing improvements to coastal defences in Southsea. The improvements are needed because approximately 654m worth of assets in Southsea are at risk from coastal flooding over the next 100 years. This includes nearly 4,000 homes and 400 businesses, as well as key infrastructure and heritage assets. The project, which is called the Southsea Flood and Erosion Risk Management Scheme (the Southsea scheme/the scheme) covers 4.5km (2.8 miles) of coastline from the Royal Garrison Church in the west to the Royal Marines Museum in the east (see Figure 1). This area has been divided into 7 sub-frontages (see figure 2), to help with future construction. The ESCP, in collaboration with a range of stakeholders, developed a short-list of proposed coastal defence options for each subfrontage of the Southsea coast. These options were taken to public consultation during November and December 2014. The ESCP would like to thank all who attended the public exhibition events and provided valuable feedback on the proposed coastal defence options. The feedback has been extremely useful to the ESCP and to Portsmouth City Council. It is now being incorporated into the selection of a preferred coastal defence type. 1.1 Purpose of the Report This report summarises: The public consultation How the public were informed of the Southsea scheme How the community were given the opportunity to view and comment on the short-listed options for new coastal defences The feedback on the Southsea scheme from the community Towards the end of the report, there is a detailed summary of the feedback received as well as information on what will be happening next. 3

Royal Garrison Church Royal Marines Museum Figure 1. Southsea scheme area Figure 2. Sections of the Southsea coastline 4

2 PUBLIC CONSULTATION 2.1 Overview A non-statutory public consultation ran for 8 weeks, from 3 rd November 2014 to the 29 th December 2014. This provided the public with the opportunity to view and comment on the short list of coastal defence options being proposed for Southsea. A variety of information was produced, from informative reports and posters to 3D animations that brought the options to life. All of the consultation material produced could be accessed online at: www.escp.org.uk/southsea. In order to bring the project closer to the community, four public exhibition events were held mid way through the consultation period. A summary of these exhibition events can be found in sections 2.2 and 2.3. There was an extensive effort to raise awareness of the Southsea scheme. The exhibitions were advertised in a number of ways, outlined in section 2.4. In order to obtain feedback from the public there was an online questionnaire, which was live for the whole 8 weeks. Hard copies of this questionnaire were also made available at the exhibition events. Overall, the public consultation was a success. A total of 471 people attended the exhibition events, showing a strong interest in the scheme from the local community. 378 questionnaire responses were received throughout the consultation, via the exhibitions events, online and by post. The feedback has been very useful and supportive of the short listed options. A summary of the results can be found in section 3. 2.2 Summary of Exhibition Events The four exhibition events were held towards the end of November 2014, at the Square Tower, the D-Day Museum and two at the Royal Beach Hotel. Photographs from each venue can be found on the next page two. These venues were chosen as they are within the scheme area, situated near to the coastline and are well-known locations within Southsea. They are also spread out across the scheme area, providing residents from all across Southsea with the opportunity to attend an event that was close to them. A total of 471 visitors attended the events. On arrival, visitors were asked to mark on a map where they had come from. Those who came represented a 5

wide spread of locations across Southsea and from further afield in Portsmouth. Figure 3 shows the locations that people had come from. There were also visitors who came from outside of Portsmouth. Their locations were Emsworth, Bedhampton, Horndean, Portchester, Fareham, Hedge End, Gosport and as far afield as Reading. This demonstrates a widespread interest in the scheme and in Southsea s coastline as a whole. 184 questionnaires were received at the events, which is a 39% response rate. A further 13 were received by post. 181 people filled out the survey online, totalling 378. The results of the questionnaire are discussed further in section 3. Figure 3. Exhibition event at the Square Tower, 20 th November 2014 6

Figure 4. Exhibition event at the Royal Beach Hotel, 25 th November 2014 Figure 5. Exhibition event at the D-Day Museum, 26 th November 2014 7

2.3 Exhibition Events Content The exhibitions were designed to communicate the development of the Scheme through a series of information posters. A copy of each of the posters can be found in Appendix B of this report. The posters began with background information on climate change and sea level rise and detail about the flood risk and coastal management in Southsea. These were followed by a series of posters with more specific information about the scheme. These provided an overview of the scheme and detail about the three coastal defence options for each section of the coast. This included descriptions, estimated cost and images of what the new defences could look like. The leading option for each section of coast was highlighted. Following these was a poster describing the story so far - how the scheme has developed, another with information on how the scheme is being funded and a final poster with information on where to find out more. There was also a display relating to flood resistance and resilience measures that can be used to help individuals reduce the flood risk to their homes. This included literature from other companies offering home flood protection equipment, and examples of sandbags and anti-flood airbricks. 8

Square Tower 20 th Nov Royal Beach Hotel 25 th & 27 th Nov D-Day Museum 26 th Nov Figure 6. Exhibition venues and locations of origin of attendees 9

As well as the posters there were 3D animation videos running on a loop on a large projector screen. The video showed a fly through of Southsea s coastline in its current condition and then showed how it could look with new defences. An image taken from the animation is shown below. F Figure 7. Screenshot of possible new defences at Southsea Castle, taken from 3D animation In addition to the 3D animation, a presentation slideshow was running on a laptop for the duration of the events. The slideshow explained a background to the project, demonstrated the long list of defence options considered and displayed useful photographs and information about the Southsea scheme. At the centre of the room was a table for visitors to fill out the questionnaire and to sit and discuss the Scheme. There were also technical drawings of the defence options available for the public to look at. The project team were on hand to greet all visitors and to assist in answering queries on any aspect of the Scheme, as required. Each visitor was given a summary booklet to take away, with all the key information about the scheme. Free refreshments were served at each event. 2.4 ESCP Website and Social Media The ESCP website was kept up to date before, during and after the public consultation. Information about the scheme and the exhibition events was available, as well as a link to the online questionnaire. Website hits more than doubled during the consultation period, compared to the previous 8 weeks. In November alone, the consultation webpage received 10

over 1,700 views from 673 different users from all over the world. Most of these were either direct visits to the website or found via Google searches. Information and links to the ESCP website were also hosted on the Portsmouth City Council website. Visit www.escp.org.uk to find out more Social media channels including Facebook and Twitter were used to advertise the events and connect with interested parties. They were also used to post photos from around Southsea. There was a great response to the social media campaign, with over 50 followers being added to the ESCP Twitter account over the 8 week period. The 3D animation of the scheme was uploaded to the ESCP YouTube channel. It received hundreds of views during the consultation period. There were also other animations posted, showing potential seafront enhancements. See all the videos at www.youtube.com/easternsolentcp 2.5 Advertisement Flyers Flyers advertising the exhibitions and the ESCP website were delivered to over 12,300 properties in Southsea, 2 weeks before the first exhibition event. A number were also left at each exhibition venue, Southsea library and delivered to local shops and businesses. A copy of the flyer can be found in Appendix B of this document. Delivering flyers proved to be the most effective means of promoting the scheme: 47.3% of respondents said that they heard about the public consultation this way. 2.6 Advertisement Posters A1 versions of the flyer were displayed in 14 council noticeboards along the seafront noticeboards. These were displayed for 3 weeks during the consultation period. 2.7 Unmanned Displays Unmanned poster displays were put up in Southsea library, Central library and Portsmouth City Council reception area. These included a poster summarising 11

the scheme, a poster advertising the exhibitions and a third giving information on historic Southsea and how the coastline has changed over time. These were displayed for the majority of the consultation period and helped to advertise the exhibitions and raise awareness of the scheme. 2.8 Southsea Neighbourhood Forum The ESCP presented at a Southsea Neighbourhood Forum meeting on 30 th October 2014. A member of the project team gave a short summary of the scheme and highlighted the importance of the public exhibition events, encouraging residents to attend and share their views. 2.9 Working with the Media A press release giving key details on the scheme and highlighting the exhibition events was issued at the beginning of the consultation period. A further press release was issued just before the first exhibition event. The news items were published multiple times in the local news and featured on the Shaping the Future of Portsmouth and About My Area websites. Articles were also published in the autumn and winter editions of Flagship magazine, which is delivered to every house in Portsmouth. A locally based TV station, That s Solent TV, came to film at one of the exhibitions and interviewed a member of the project team. 2.10 Councillor Engagement The council s Portfolio Holder for Environment was kept up to date on the project and the consultation event via a series of internal meetings with Portsmouth City Council s Client Manager. The consultation material was previewed and approved by the leader of the council and several ward councillors. On 25 th September 2014, the Cabinet were briefed on the public consultation. Councillors also received a written update summarising the scheme and highlighting the consultation via Portsmouth City Council s Members Information Service at the end of October 2014. 2.11 Strategic Directors On 30 th July 2014 the Council s Strategic Directors Board (SDB) were informed on the short list of defence options. The SDB agreed, at the meeting, that the public should be consulted on the shortlisted options. 12

2.12 Wider Stakeholder Engagement In November 2013, the ESCP held a workshop to identify the key stakeholders that should be involved with the scheme. These formed the project Steering Group. The first meeting was then held on 6 th December 2013. Together the group identified the risks, issues and opportunities associated with the scheme, which enabled the development of the short list of coastal defence options. The Steering Group, local residents groups, businesses and other project partners were informed individually about the consultation. They were invited to attend the exhibition events and asked to complete the questionnaire. 3 WHAT THE PUBLIC SAY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS 3.1 Summary A total of 378 questionnaire responses were received during the 8 week consultation. 184 of these were filled out at the exhibition events. 13 were received by post and 181 people filled it out online. The vast majority of those who responded are Portsmouth residents (89.6%). 92.2% said they believe there is a need to reduce the risk of flooding and erosion to Southsea, with 89.3% saying there is a need for new coastal defences. Most people heard about the exhibition events because they received a leaflet through their door. Others heard about them by word of mouth or saw adverts around Southsea or in their local newspaper. Other responses included through the internet, social media channels, Flagship magazine, East Southsea Neighbourhood Forum and the University of Portsmouth. 3.2 Response to Short-List of Options The results show strong public support for the coastal defence options for each sub-frontage. Each poster detailing the options showed the 3 short-listed options and highlighted which of these was currently the leading option. There was an overall average of 85.8% support for the leading coastal defence options. 13

For each section of the coast, support for the options ranged from 84.5% to 88.9%. The strongest support was for the sub-frontage by Southsea Castle. The lowest was for the Eastney beach area. Objections to the coastal defence options were mainly based on queries regarding how effective the types of defence would be, the appearance and the respondent wanting more information. Other objections included funding issues, not thinking the scheme is needed and competing priorities. In terms of materials that could be used to construct the coastal defences, the majority voted for stepped concrete as a primary defence and a masonry wall as a set back defence. The masonry wall however was closely followed by an earth embankment as a set back defence. The least popular options were a concrete slope as a primary defence and a concrete wall for a set back defence. 3.3 Coastline Priorities The results showed that when using the coastline, footpaths and Southsea promenade, access to the shore, the view and the beach are the most important factors for the public. These were followed by heritage, seating and cycle access. However there was a spread across all factors. Fishing received the lowest number of votes. Other responses included seafront facilities, the appearance of the coastline, swimming and non-water sports. 3.4 Funding and Contributions It is estimated that the cost of improving and maintaining coastal defences around Southsea could be over 50million over the next 100 years. Portsmouth City Council is a Risk Management Authority (RMA) and can apply to the Environment Agency for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) funding. The government has also put in place a policy for funding for coastal defence schemes, called Partnership Funding. The principles are simple, encouraging local funding and other contributions to supplement national grants. 38.5% of respondents indicated they are willing to contribute towards the scheme. The majority said this would be in the form of voluntary work, closely followed by financial contributions. The majority of financial contributions were in the 1-100 bracket. 14

If each willing volunteer contributed the minimum financially, over 9300 could be raised towards the coastal defences. If everyone gave the maximum, this figure increases to 27,300. Other people indicated they could contribute information such as photographs and environmental data and site access, building materials and equipment. 3.5 Enhancements Funding from the Environment Agency, referred to in Section 3.4, can only be used for designing and constructing coastal defences and does not cover public space improvements (enhancements). The Southsea scheme links to Portsmouth City Council s Seafront Masterplan, and Seafront Strategy which sets out the Council s aspirations for improving the public environment along the seafront. Some of the landscape features can be initiated by the scheme (plants to soften the appearance, safe walkways, ramps or slopes and access points), however street furniture, finishes, promontory s and cycle ways are currently outside the scope of this project. The ESCP will continue to work with others to explore how enhancements could be delivered in partnership with the scheme. The questionnaire results show that in addition to coastal defences, the public would most like to see improvements to footpaths and the promenade, cycle access and seating along the seafront. Other popular answers were food and drink venues, the beach, heritage, access to the shore and lighting. Dog walking and fishing received the lowest number of votes. 71.5% of respondents said they think that Portsmouth City Council should investigate how to deliver enhancements to Southsea s Seafront. This includes features such as street furniture and landscape design. The majority of those who answered no indicated it is because they do not think enhancements are necessary. Many thanks to all who provided feedback and additional comments. These have been recorded and will be taken on board in discussions with Portsmouth City Council. Of those who responded to the questionnaire, the vast majority said Portsmouth City Council should contribute towards the cost of enhancements (87.5%). 51% also said it should be central government, 49.3% also said local businesses and a fewer number said residents or none of the above. 15

The detailed questionnaire results are shown in Appendix A. Where the total number of responses for each question differs from the total number of questionnaires received, it is because participants could tick more than one answer or because they chose not to give an answer at all. 4 COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC During the public consultation period, all feedback received was logged and evaluated. Comments written by those indicating partial or no support for the coastal defence options are detailed in Appendix C, together with responses from the project team. There are 80 such comments. Each comment was given a reference number and categorised. The categories identified were: Amenity, Technical, Environmental, Funding/Economics, Design/Option, Urgency/Priority/Risk, Health and Safety and Further Information For data protection purposes the names of those who left the comments are not included. 5 WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Using the consultation feedback, a preferred coastal defence option for each sub-frontage will be selected and a business case developed. On behalf of Portsmouth City Council, the ESCP aim to submit the business case to the Environment Agency in summer 2015, to apply for FCERM funding. If the bid for funding is successful, the ESCP will then develop a detailed design for the new defences before starting construction. It is currently estimated that construction could start as early as Autumn/Winter 2016. 16