Design process
The complexities of combining a large regional flood protection scheme with a local development stirred inevitable tensions between a national agency, a large county council, a cautious and conservative district planning authority and the town council. The timescale of the civil engineering drove the programme, and forced difficult decisions to be made quickly. The highway scheme was designed by Devon County Council's engineering design group and implemented by South West Highways. The council had the advantage of an organisational structure that has successfully combined a wide range of engineering, transport and urban design and landscape skills within its environment, economy and culture directorate, under the leadership of Edward Chorlton, who personally championed the scheme. There continues to be justifiable pride in the achievements amongst all involved.
The scheme for the quay flood alleviation works used a design-and-build contract, bringing advantages of speed, but causing problems with the incorporation of changes arising from consultation. The use of a preceding phase of flood protection works provided a platform for generating public interest and understanding of the scheme. It also prompted the first stage of a decision which proved to be the most difficult - the felling and replacement of trees lining the quayside. Public opinion appeared to divide on age, with many older people and businesses vocally opposed to changes. But the county council and its partners and the team held their nerve despite court proceedings over the trees and a stormy local political climate.
The decision to replace the trees brought many long-standing tensions to a head. Such a radical transformation from a familiar, if battered, ragbag collection of species to a more durable and more formal avenue of ash trees required the long-term benefits to be balanced against short-term loss - memory against hope, emotions against pragmatism. The issue dominated the local press for months, diverting attention away from many other critical changes taking place. The district council vacillated in the face of popular sentiment, straining the partnership arrangements. The county council addressed the issue head on, producing clear arguments for the logic of replanting, and building on the visible qualities of the completed first phase, eventually winning public support. A less determined stance could have derailed the whole scheme.
The standard of workmanship achieved, especially in the paving, is impressive. The county's term contractor, South West Highways, was able to select experienced and dedicated pavers and achieve a consistently high standard throughout the project, under the supervision of an energetic clerk of works. A bespoke large concrete slab, using 90 per cent recycled aggregates, was developed by a local company for the project, and the sustainable paving product has since been used elsewhere. The coherence of the project team is reflected in the choice of copings for the flood wall by the Environment Agency to ensure a good match with the paving.
