Development of Roach and Crouch Flood Management Strategy
The Flood Management Strategy for the Roach and Crouch Estuary has been developed in several stages. This has enabled the Project Team (Environment Agency and Halcrow Group Ltd) to disseminate information, consult and obtain the views of the Steering Group, key stakeholders and members of the public, at each stage of the strategy development. The staged approach has also enabled the Project Team and Steering Group to check that the appropriate level of detail has been given to each stage before proceeding to the next. This process is set out below:

Stage 1: Defining the flood-risk
The first stage of the flood management strategy defined the present and future risk of flooding to the land adjacent to the Roach and Crouch Estuary, which was achieved by looking at the condition of the existing defences, predicting the effects of sea level rise and natural estuary development on the existing flood defences and identifying how long the existing flood defences will remain effective. Background data for the study was collated.

At this stage, an initial baseline consultation was undertaken with all identified stakeholders in November 2001. (Table 1)

Stage 2: Defining strategy objectives
The second stage involved defining the existing natural and human environment (baseline Strategic Environmental Assessment) and developing the strategic objectives and specific environmental objectives of the strategy.

At this stage, all identified stakeholders were consulted between May and July 2002 (Information Bulletin No 1). (Table 1)

Stage 3: Defining flood management options
A long list of generic flood management options was developed and all identified stakeholders were informed of the long list of options in May 2002. (Table 1)

Subsequently, a high-level review of the long-list of options was undertaken, which considered health and safety, construction complexity, cost, durability and effectiveness. This review enabled the number of generic flood management options to be reduced to a shorter list, which could potentially be applied to any stretch of flood defence in the Roach and Crouch estuary complex.

All identified stakeholders were informed the short-list of options through consultation in May 2003 (Information Bulletin No 2). (Table 1)

In addition to the development of options, a number of different technical studies were undertaken at this stage including estuary processes modelling.

Stage 4: Appraisal of the Short list of Flood Management Options
The short list of options produced in Stage 3 were subject to more detailed technical, economic and environmental analysis (Strategic Environmental Assessment), which considered each flood compartment and the estuary as a whole, to identify the draft preferred flood management options for the future management of the estuary. The Government sets strict guidelines as to how any impacts should be assessed, so that they can be compared and prioritised in relation to other flood management strategies and schemes being undertaken in other parts of the UK .

All identified stakeholders were consulted on the draft preferred flood management options using a Roach and Crouch Flood Management Strategy Information Bulletin in August 2003. Stakeholders and members of the public were also consulted through public exhibitions and stakeholder meetings in September and December 2003. (Table 1)

Stage 5: Identification of the Preferred Flood Management Strategy
Following consultation on the draft preferred flood management strategy options (Stage 4), the issues raised during the consultation process were addressed, links were established with other initiatives and project in the area e.g. Wallasea Wetlands Creation Project [ LINK to other projects ], meetings were held with key stakeholders and the final flood management strategy document was developed for internal approval by the Environment Agency in 2004/05 .

Further stakeholder meetings and public exhibitions will be held in 2005 at which the final Flood Management Strategy will be presented.

Future Stages
The strategy will be reviewed on a 5-year basis and therefore key stakeholders and the public will have an opportunity to input into the strategy on a wide range of issues when it is reviewed every 5 years. Equally, the public and stakeholders will also be consulted during the scheme appraisal stage, when the Environment Agency will look at individual flood compartments based on the detailed costed plan for the first five years of work. The public consultation at this stage will home in on the options for individual frontages in far more detail than at the strategy level and the final decisions for the long-term management of each frontage will only be decided at that time with full public involvement.