CIRIA has been selected as a stakeholder network coordinator to help promote and raise awareness of the project in order to maximise its uptake and, hence its potential benefits and impact. CIRIA is working under contract to Bournemouth University – one of the UK partners of this European project consortium.
Project overview
Across the channel coast, there is an abundance of marine infrastructure used for coastal protection, flood defence, commercial or recreational purposes. However, these are rarely designed to enhance coastal water ecosystems. In recent years, ideas have been developed to use this so-called "grey infrastructure" to provide habitats for marine life.
The project was originally slated to run for 3 years, April 2019 through to March 2022, but has been granted a 1-year extension, concluding in June 2023. Progress to date includes:
• Development of prototype biomimetic structures, that can be incorporated in coastal infrastructure
• Testing and monitoring these prototypes on both sides of the Channel
• Undertaking large-scale trials of one of the more successful prototypes.
These trials are continuing for the remainder of the project, in order to further strengthen the results from the project.