Balfour Beatty wins £47m Suffolk flood defence job

Balfour Beatty has secured a £47m contract to deliver flood and coastal defences near Benacre in Suffolk.

The contractor said it will protect homes, businesses, farmland and the A12 road from flood risk.

Balfour Beatty was appointed by the Waveney, Lower Yare & Lothingland Internal Drainage Board via a SCAPE framework.

The scheme includes the replacement of the existing Benacre Pumping Station, which dates from 1955 and is now threatened by coastal erosion.

Balfour Beatty will also construct a new embankment across the Lothingland Valley to manage tidal flooding, alongside a second, smaller pumping station to handle fluvial flooding.

A new intertidal channel will be created between the embankment and the coast, delivering 82 hectares of bird habitat.

The work will protect 35 homes, 46 businesses and 600 hectares of farmland, Balfour Beatty said in a statement today (28 August).

The main structures will be manufactured offsite using modular construction methods to reduce lorry movements and carbon emissions. The existing pumping station will remain in operation until it is decommissioned.

Early works began in spring 2025, with main construction scheduled to begin later in the year. Completion is expected in 2030.

Balfour Beatty said it would hire two local ex-armed forces personnel for the project via its Military Talent Pathway scheme, launched in 2022.

Peter Mumford, managing director of the tier one contractor’s regional civils business, said the Suffolk scheme would “safeguard critical infrastructure, local communities, and the environment”.

Source: Balfour Beatty announcement