Background information and what we do

River restoration plays an increasingly important role in UK river corridor management. Restoration encourages natural processes such as erosion, deposition and increased flow diversity to occur in a sustainable fashion adding ecological and aesthetic value to the river corridor.

Less engineered management schemes are often more attractive than hard engineered alternatives and allow the operation of the river to return to a more natural state. This provides value for local inhabitants and creates a more diverse river environment, increasing quality of habitat along the river corridor.

The river restoration approach is in line with current thinking and guidance regarding management of rivers. DEFRA's 'Making Space for Water' programme encouraged approaches to management such as river restoration which by providing a fully integrated approach can achieve conservation, flow management and sociological objectives. River restoration may also be successfully applied to deliver the objectives set by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).

As organisation members of the River Restoration Centre we provides groups or individuals planning river restoration projects with assistance in establishing project aims and objectives and providing technical guidance on appropriate techniques.

We apply our river modelling skills to satisfy Environment Agency requirements that flood risk is not increased as a result of proposed schemes and to ensure that the proposed river system operates as well as possible. Our design of restored river channels are created with reference to the Manual of River Restoration Techniques and with correspondence to relevant groups, including Environment Agency ecology and development control teams and landowners, Natural England and other stakeholders.

Why Choose Us?

We are well placed to assist in the design and implementation of river restoration projects. Our hydraulic modelling and hydrological expertise enables us to design and model proposals ensuring the system performs as planned across the full range of expected flows and flood risk is not increased as a result. This information is often required to enable the appropriate consents to be granted by the Environment Agency and other regulatory bodies.

As a small consultancy we happily work with external teams of landscape architects, ecologists and other partners to provide the most appropriate project team. If you are planning a river restoration project and would like some advice then we would be pleased to hear from you. Our contact details can be found here.