The Environment Agency has appointed a consortium led by AtkinsRéalis with subconsultants Stantec and Waterman to provide professional services for a new flood and coastal risk management framework covering England.
The appointment, made through the Government Commercial Agency’s Construction Professional Services 2 programme, places the consortium on the Flood Risk and Asset Management (Fram) framework.
The projects on the framework are expected to reduce flood risk to communities and businesses, protect critical infrastructure and contribute to environmental sustainability through measures to protect and enhance natural habitats.
The consortium’s work on the framework is intended to provide technical and environmental support to the Environment Agency as it delivers flood defence and coastal erosion schemes over the next four years.
The work forms part of government plans to bolster the country’s flood resilience as extreme weather linked to climate change increases the frequency and severity of coastal and river flooding.
Last year, NCE interviewed Environment Agency director of flood risk strategy Julie Foley on upgrades to the body’s National Flood Risk Assessment (Nafra) and sister tool the National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (Ncerm), which were introduced in December 2024.
Nafra details data gathered on the national risk of flooding from rivers, the sea and surface water, while Ncerm provides a national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk.
These recent flood risk assessments by the Environment Agency using enhanced data revealed that up to 8M properties could be at risk of flooding by 2050 due to climate change.
The new contract covers three specific service streams, technical services (Lot 9a), environmental services (Lot 9b) and commercial and programme management services (Lot 9c).
According to the Environment Agency, the framework is designed to ensure there is the capability and resources to deliver projects “efficiently and effectively” across multiple sites.
AtkinsRéalis said the consortium will draw on the scale and expertise of its integrated supply chain to support complex, multi-site programmes.
AtkinsRéalis global market director for water Richard Whale said: “Fram plays a central role in enabling the Environment Agency to deliver a nationally significant programme designed to reduce flood risk and increase resilience for communities, businesses and the natural environment.
“Thanks to our long-standing working relationship with the Environment Agency, AtkinsRéalis is well placed to bring together engineering, environmental and programme delivery expertise to help deliver solutions that are not only effective, but also sustainable and adaptable over the long term.
“Having worked effectively with the Environment Agency in the south west over recent years, this appointment elevates the role of AtkinsRéalis to national supplier for Environment Agency across the whole of England and we’re ready to bring our expertise to this significant framework with our teams across the country.”
Stantec regional business lead for environmental services in the UK Jamie Woods said: “The challenges facing our environment and coastal regions are only getting more urgent, which is why it’s so important to draw together our collective experience and understanding of the best solutions.
“AtkinsRéalis and Waterman are the perfect partners for Stantec’s teams and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together to benefit communities and support resilience over the next few years.”
Waterman regional director Kerry Foster said: “We are delighted to be appointed to this important framework alongside AtkinsRéalis and Stantec.
“Our focus will be on providing high-quality secondment support, with experienced professionals embedded directly within Environment Agency teams to strengthen capability and help deliver critical flood and coastal resilience projects.
“With increasing pressure on flood and coastal resilience assets across the UK, access to the right expertise at the right time is critical. This framework enables us to provide flexible, responsive support that helps accelerate project delivery, build organisational capacity, and create lasting benefits for the communities these projects are designed to protect.”
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