Farlington Marshes, situated on the northern shore of Langstone Harbour on the south coast of England, is a defended freshwater parcel of land of internationally recognised high environmental value.

It is protected by a 3.25 km revetment sea defence, the condition of which required increasing maintenance and for which a long term solution was needed.

Using cutting-edge techniques developed for previous coastal habitat creation projects, ABPmer, in association with Atkins, undertook option appraisals that considered both the physical and habitat responses to optimise management of the marshes. The options, including managed realignment, looked to provide maximum environmental benefit, whilst offering a sustainable coastal defence to protect property at risk of coastal flooding.

The baseline information and development of the preferred option for Farlington Marshes was undertaken in consultation with key stakeholders including conservation bodies, NGOs, local authorities, the harbour board and other directly affected parties.