Stakeholder Engagement
The development of the pre-cast BIOBLOCK unit and habitat enhancement design features required close collaboration with coastal engineers and local councils to ensure optimal ecological design without compromising the defence structure's primary function as flood defence.
The developed methods were transmitted to stakeholders and end-users, including coastal engineers, consultancies, local and national flood defence and planning authorities, conservation agencies and NGOs during several workshops, seminars, meetings and conferences. Stakeholders and end-users were invited to participate in two URBANE workshops in January 2010 and June 2013. The aim was to seek their advice, views and perspectives, and to share the findings from the Esmée Fairbairn funded URBANE Project and the related projects BIOPROTECTION and Boscombe Surf Reef. The Final Workshop in June 2013 was also used to receive comments from attendees on booklets that summarise design guidelines for biodiversity enhancement of artificial structures, reduction in the loss of natural habitat associated with such structures and sustainable management of artificial lagoonoids (disused docks).