Pevensey Bay Sea Defence Scheme

As the contract draws to a close, McBains was appointed to provide specialist PPP expertise to help manage the transition of the concession from the service provider (Pevensey Coastal Defence Ltd) to the Environment Agency. McBains advised the Environment Agency on all aspects relating to PPP handback and provided project management support to affect a seamless transfer of services at the end of the concession.

A key element of the role was the technical review and interpretation of the PFI contract, schedules, and associated documentation. The review included the identification of information gaps, ambiguities and areas where definition was lacking. In addition to the technically-focused review, McBains undertook a commercial assessment of compliance with contractual requirements, including a review of risk issues. The form of contract was a bespoke form of agreement, reflecting the unique nature of the application of PFI to sea defences. The practical interpretation of the contract and understanding the commercial intent was a major challenge that required the benefit of the significant hands-on experience of the McBains team with project contracts in general and PFI agreements in particular.

McBains developed the expiry plan and programme to manage expiry workstream activities, summarising and capturing the key actions, milestones and decision points in the expiry process. This was only possible by creating a strong, collaborative working relationship with the Environment Agency team, developing a thorough understanding of how this project strategically contributed to the sea defence objectives for the south coast, and taking time to understand the capabilities and resourcing challenges of our client.

Our role has helped the Environment Agency to develop the procurement strategy for the post-expiry sea defence services, which will ensure the ongoing protection of an area that includes over 10,000 properties, several caravan parks, important road and rail links and an important ecological site that has Ramsar Convention status as a Wetland of International Importance.