ExoHabitats for Southend-on-Sea
➤ March 2024 ➤ Southend-on-Sea, Essex ➤ Southend City Council
ExoHabitats, installed in Leigh High Street
Problem
The continued development of our coastlines has left little space for nature, with natural habitats being replaced by artificial surfaces which lack complexity. Traditional sheet piling serves one purpose, to provide stability for land adjacent to water bodies. Sheet piling is functionally effective, but its sheer, smooth surfaces represent poor opportunities for supporting our coastal species.
Solution
Exo Engineering have developed habitats which can be fixed to existing sheet piling, which we call our “ExoHabitats”. Made from our GeoBlock technology, our ExoHabitats not only increase habitats available for coastal species, but use a low carbon eco-concrete which incorporates up to 78% recycled aggregate.
Working alongside Southend City Council, Exo designed and manufactured 23 our our ExoHabitats. Our latest design features a larger water-retaining cup than our earlier concept, increasing the amount of water which can be held to protect intertidal species from drying. The ExoHabitats are being installed onto an existing sheet pile wall, increasing available habitats for coastal species.
Results
Our ExoHabitats are helping to combat habitat fragmentation by leaving space for nature to thrive along our shared coastal areas. In this way, we can continue to develop coastal areas whilst mitigating habitat loss. The ExoHabitats will be monitored to examine their impact of biodiversity and evidence the effectiveness of our solutions.
