A new wildlife haven for Lincolnshire’s East Coast

Our civil engineering team, in collaboration with landscape architects Influence and Jonathan Hendry Architects, recently completed construction on Sandilands, a 25-hectare wetland and visitor site nestled along the marshes of Lincolnshire’s East Coast. 

Previously a golf course, Sandilands was acquired by the National Trust in 2020 with the aim to provide all year-round nature tourism within the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park.

Sandilands is especially important as it falls on the east coast 'flyway' migration route for birds. It will provide resting and refuelling habitat for migrating birds, as well as breeding and wintering habitat for birds.

Bringing this ambition to life, Sandilands will be home to an increasing variety of wildlife species, including migratory birds such as the Black-Tailed Godwit. In addition to a new car park for site accessibility, and green walking paths through the wetlands, visitors will be able to enjoy a warm drink and bite to eat at the Club House, an on-site Cafe. 

The National Trust is keen to explore opportunities to improve accessibility and visitor experience, reduce embodied and operational carbon outputs, introduce a new green energy strategy and implement bio-enhancing drainage features to a new visitor centre made with sustainable materials.

One of the major factors considered in the design of the site was the location's proneness to flooding, as it sits in a Flood Zone 3. Many initiatives were taken to work with this factor, rather than against it, through the introduction of green infrastructure. 

Our team, led by Erik Stopp, devised and implemented a new biodiverse wetland as well as a drainage system which will be built for the areas surrounding the Club House and car park. This system predominantly collects water through surface runoff, then infiltrates through permeable surfaces into a sub-base layer below the structures. A bund surrounding the clubhouse will act as a flood defence for the building, supported by drainage systems that redirect roof runoff to the car park, and maintains pond and lagoon levels whilst mitigating excessive rainfall. 

It is hoped that by the completion of the project, popularity for the site will have increased, and momentum will be gathered in the development of environmentally restorative green spaces where visitors can interact with wildlife without disrupting their natural environment.  

James Bloomfield, structural associate in our London studio, said: “This was a truly special project that created a beautiful environment for people and wildlife to enjoy. Even better, is that we have delivered the visitor centre and other structural interventions with low-carbon materials and methods, along with sustainable drainage systems, which will provide the land with more robust defence against excess storm water.”