Project diary

Latest diary update April 2007
Whilst the feasibility study for East Reef found the project to be technically deliverable in Jaywick, progress is dependent on next steps with master planning for Jaywick (which is being separately funded by EEDA).

EEDA and it's partners remain committed to helping the long term sustainable regeneration of Jaywick but need to find an option that meets the aspirations of the local community, addresses issues such as flood risk, planning requirements, provides housing and infrastructure of sufficient quality, and is financially viable to the public and private sectors. As this is a complex set of issues, finding solutions to meet all these objectives is taking time. The Partnership (including the Environment Agency) is currently undertaking a strategic flood risk assessment of Jaywick, due to be completed this summer. Once the results of this are known, a review of the regeneration framework options can be carried out and the Partnership will be in a position to re-examine ways of taking forward a phased approach to regeneration.

We very much hope that East Reef can become a part of this phased approach and play a significant role in the regeneration of Jaywick and its coastline.

Latest diary update June 2006
June 12th-16th saw our project making an appearance during ‘Constructionarium’ at the National Construction College in West Norfolk – a week long educational exercise for civil engineering students from Imperial College London to construct versions of engineering landmarks. One of the four projects the students built was a smaller scale model of East Reef and it was fascinating to see the end result - click here to see for yourself. The exercise was observed by EEDA’s Chairman, Richard Ellis alongside The Duke of Edinburgh who also met representatives from Expedition Engineering - the company who worked with us on design development.

Funding from EEDA enabled a permanent site to be established at the CITB's National Construction College in Bircham Newton. This will allow scale projects to be built by groups of civil engineering students, supported by construction companies and engineering consultants like Expedition. The scheme is viewed as being at the cutting edge of student teaching and we were delighted to be associated with this event. For more information visit www.imperial.ac.uk.

Latest diary update May 2006
Since completing the feasibility study in October we have attended two public consultation events held in Jaywick which were organised by Llewelyn Davies Yeang, the consultants currently producing a master plan for the area. These events were both very well attended by local people of all ages. The focus of these events was gauging public opinion about the options for the forthcoming master plan, however when interviewed specifically about the East Reef project people were supportive of the idea.
 
The direction of the East Reef project is now very much dependent on the outcome of the master planning work.

Latest diary update Nov 2005
We have now completed the East Reef Feasibility Study and our project is entering an exciting new stage. Over the last 10 months the search area for a suitable location was widened to cover the entire East of England coastline. The town of Jaywick in Essex was chosen as the site for the East Reef project, and the technical feasibility of the East Reef Landmark Promenade, a sculptural, modern day pier, was tested and found to be feasible. The site presented many opportunities, though some environmental challenges were also identified. The team worked hard to adopt a ‘light-touch’ approach in terms of the structural design and location of the promenade, and potential impact on the seabed and existing coastal defences was minimised. The idea of an offshore tropical dive centre, presented at competition stage, was further developed in collaboration with Aquality, who specialise in the design and construction of aquaria. Due to constraints and potential issues identified, the Dive Centre is now envisaged to be located on shore and be a temperate facility, stocked with a variety of beautiful native North Sea fish in pristine, clear water.

The team have now presented the outcomes of the feasibility study to EEDA. Because of the potential for the East Reef project to be a catalyst for regeneration, members of EEDA’s Regional Renaissance attended the presentation, and the response received from all was very positive. The project is now at an exciting stage where much of its future progress will depend on its incorporation into the forthcoming Jaywick Masterplan, and the securing of local and regional community support.

Being one of four winners in the landmark east competition has created many wonderful opportunities for us as a new architectural practice. The ambitious and relevant nature of the East Reef proposal, and the backing of EEDA though feasibility study funding, resulted in us being able to bring together a design team of creative and experienced professionals, all of whom are pre-eminent representatives of their respective fields of specialisation. Through statutory stakeholder consultation undertaken as part of the study, we have also met many influential and interesting individuals, and developed our project in response to our discussions. Carrying out research to identify and assess the site for the East Reef proposal has allowed us to build up an understanding of the issues and opportunities associated with working with the East of England coastline. Having completed this phase of the East Reef Feasibility Study, we will certainly seek to be involved in further projects in the East of England, especially those which engage with one of the region’s main assets, its extensive and diverse coastline.

Diary update Jan 2005
The team met with EEDA at the end of January to discuss progress and the initial development of the East Reef proposal. As a team we have been establishing the key issues, both technical and social, which will affect both the developing concept and the parameters for preliminary site selection.

We have been carrying out initial consultation with some of the key stakeholders this week, as we know it is very important to have their input as early on in the process as possible. To have a broad understanding of the varying concerns and objectives of stakeholders in the area we met with the Coastal Concern Action Group, the Environment Agency, North Norfolk District Council and English Nature.

We listened carefully to what everyone had to say, and in doing so built up a very real picture of the complex challenges East Reef will face along the way, and the positive backing it has the potential to gain if it responds to those challenges well.

Diary update August 2004
After several years' working for other London practices, the landmark east competition seemed like the perfect opportunity to test our own ideas. We knew our concept was ambitious but felt that East Reef would highlight the reality of living with the threat of coastal flooding, and genuinely benefit the local and regional economy. When the announcement came the phone seemed to ring constantly with requests for interviews. The scale and nature of our proposal meant we weren't surprised that East Reef aroused a passionate response from local residents. At the judging interview we explained that the location of the Reef would be explored as an integral part of the feasibility.

However, our competition boards showed East Reef located adjacent to Winterton Dunes. Malcolm Kirby, the lead campaigner for the Coastal Concern Action Group felt that Happisburgh, a village currently threatened by cliff erosion, could benefit from such a scheme. We have since met with EEDA to discuss the feasibility study - due to start in the autumn 2004 - and have all agreed that finding the right site for East Reef is one of the most important elements of the feasibility study. We want to keep the public involved and updated at every stage.

Diary update December 2004
It is now a week since we started stage one of the feasibility study. We are really looking forward to the new year, which will begin with a day-long site visit to the Norfolk coast. The aim of this will be to visit potential sites for East Reef and to consider, whilst on location, the ways in which the concept design should develop. We hope that a crisp January morning on a sandy Norfolk beach will be an inspirational beginning to the feasibility study.

During stage one, the design team will be further developing the design and engineering concept of the landmark reef, which has not been significantly explored since the winners announcement. We are now looking forward to a creative and thought-provoking process of design development, driven by innovation, precedent and ultimately choice of site.

In choosing the site one of our main aims is to keep interested parties involved and informed. This includes both the statutory bodies and representatives of the communities who live and work near the potential sites. An open public forum is envisaged in stage one to allow all interested parties to view and comment on East Reef's progress.

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