Salix worked on the River Nairn in an award winning project to renaturalise the river, allowing it to meander again and restoring river processes.
Re-naturalising River Nairn

Salix worked on the River Nairn in an award winning project to renaturalise the river, allowing it to meander again and restoring river processes.
As an ecologically sensitive site the use of traditional hard engineered bank protection was not an option and Salix’s bioengineered designs were favoured.
When a flashy stream was unearthed in Sheffield Salix were brought in as specialist experts in erosion management by the Wild Trout Trust. The Porter Brook was subject to regular flooding, if it rained on the Peaks then the city centre would flood.
Rock Rolls and pre-planted Coir Rolls & Pallets were used to prevent erosion whilst creating a lovely habitat in Sheffield City centre where a culverted stream had been flash flooding
Creating habitats in a flood protection project with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust & Environment Agency at Snaith Ponds, using our Coir Pallets & native plants
Rock Rolls and Rock Mattresses are both easy to put into place, prevent erosion and can withstand high flows whilst allowing for the natural establishment of plants.
The decision was made to use Rock Rolls & Rock Mattresses at this residential flood alleviation scheme because of ease, cost and environmental benefits
Constant flooding and erosion had been causing some serious problems for Merthyr Tydfil Council who manage an old reclaimed tip site, close to the village of Bedlinog in the Taff Bargoed Valley.
In 2009 Team Van Oord installed 9000m2 of Salix’s VMax Shear Stress Turf as part of the Conwy Flood Alleviation Scheme, seven years and many major overtopping events on and it has stood the test well.
The increasing frequency of flood events on the River Washford required the existing system to be replaced and improved.
The increasing frequency of flood events on the River Washford required the existing system to be replaced and improved
Salix worked with Natural Resources Wales at Cwmparc in the Rhondda Valley to renaturalise the water courses in order to reduce flood risk and increase biodiversity.
Bridging the ecological and engineering gap with our effective bio-engineering solutions
Rock Rolls offer flexibility and the fact they arrive on site pre-filled with stone greatly reduces installation time and therefore cost, compared to in-situ filled gabions. Rock rolls and mattresses can also be installed during live flow situations, which is not possible with standard gabions.
Erosion control using Tensar VMax P550 on Loch Garry spillway and embankments
Tensar VMax P550 is designed for use as erosion control on steep slopes, high-flow channels, spillways, and shorelines.
With funding from the Welsh Government’s Nature Fund, we supported Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in taking steps to naturalise one of the concrete channels which brings water down from the mountains at Cwmparc,
East Tullos Burn project transformed a waterway from a straight, hard-engineered channel, into a natural stream, functional floodplain and wetland habitat.
As a core element of our work is focussed upon healthy rivers we are proud to be supporting the fantastic River Restoration Centre’s Conference this month.
The £21.7 million flood defence scheme involved works on 16 individual reaches of the river and it reduced the risk of tidal flooding to 488 homes and 94 commercial properties in Sandwich. Client – Jackson Civil Engineering working on behalf of the Environment Agency.
Following the 2005 £2million Lhanbryde Flood Alleviation Scheme, near Elgin in Moray, in Summer 2014, Salix worked with Royal HaskoningDHV engineers to improve erosion control on the dam’s spillway.
Salix is sponsoring CIWEM’s one-day Winter Conference, to be held at the Brunei Gallery in Russell Square, London on 29 January 2015.
Salix reviewed the options for improving water control and biodiversity at Nant Llwynog stream – an old reclaimed tip site close to the village of Bedlinog in the Taff Bargoed Valley.
As part of a series of measures to protect the freshwater habitats at Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve on the north Norfolk coast,
Salix has worked with Aberdeen City Council, cbec and Walking-the-Talk to restore the East Tullos Burn in St Fittick’s Park, Torry,
Working directly with ethical, organic and sustainable suppliers in Sri Lanka, each year Salix imports hundreds of tonnes of compressed coir fibres and turns them into Coir Rolls and Pallets at its Thetford nursery in Norfolk.
Coconet800 is a robust and biodegradable erosion control system which is designed to provide immediate erosion protection to soils whilst allowing vegetation to grow. Coconet800 provides an excellent, cost-effective solution to limit erosion, increasing surface cover and roughness.
Salix were awarded the contract and began works to carry out 300 metres of riverbank protection to protect this existing exposed high pressure gas pipe in March 2013.
HydraCX is a hydraulically applied erosion control product that protects slopes against soil and seed loss from heavy rain and wind from day one of application. It is 100% natural, consisting of reclaimed cotton and straw fibres.
Salix have the facilities to contract grow turf using the VMax range of Turf Reinforcement Mats (TRMs). VMax C350 or P550 is used as the reinforcement element within the turf giving unprecedented scour protection performance.
VMax³ P550 is composed of a permanent, ultra-high-strength, three-dimensional matting structure incorporated with a permanent 100% polypropylene fibre matrix.
VmaxC350 is a permanent Turf Reinforcement for reinforcing soils. The VmaxC350 incorporates a coir fibre layer to provide instant erosion protection, whilst the three-dimensional grid provides significant long-term protection.
The continued partnership between Salix and Tensar® is strengthened with the re-introduction into the UK of the Triton Marine Mattress System and the Triton Gabions and Gabion Mats.
The River Washford runs through the village of Roadwater near Minehead, Somerset. The catchment creates a flashy river which floods parts of the village in large flood events.
Medmerry is one of the stretches of coastline most at risk of flooding in southern England. The overall scheme involves building major new sea defences inland and allowing a new intertidal area to form between Selsey and Bracklesham in West Sussex.
Wetlands are an incredibly valuable environment, both to nature and wider society; BioHaven can offer all of the ecosystem services of a healthy functioning wetland but can be placed in an area where it would be impossible to put a constructed or conventional wetland.
Salix are pleased to announce that We have been appointed as the sole distributors of the VMax® range of soil erosion control products formerly known as North American Green.
The Environment Agency are responsible for the river bank stability at Railway Lane, Lewes and recognising the integrity of the existing blockwork facing was deteriorating began to look into solutions to this challenge.
Salix have extensive experience of spillway protection offering advice to engineers involved in this area of expertise.
Our VMax range of Composite Turf Reinforcement Mats (CTRMs) including VMax C350,
The Wilderness Lake is an important coarse fishery and recreational resource on the edge of Porthcawl in South Wales. It also functions as a flood storage area for the surrounding urban areas.
Works were required to repair an eroding railway embankment adjacent to the river. This resulted in the embankment encroaching into the river, causing erosion problems on the opposite bank belonging to a local farmer.
Worden Park channel stabilisation work
“Following works within Worden Park to remove a culverted section of Cricket Field Brook that was the cause of flooding to neighbouring residential properties,
The saying “a picture paints a thousand words” could not be more accurately applied than to a current Salix erosion control solution at the University of Birmingham.
Client – Van Oord working for the Environment Agency.
Salix are currently working on the Medmerry managed realignment scheme,
1 km of new and existing channel was enhanced using bioengineering techniques as part of a flood protection project in the centre of historic Pembroke in West Wales.
Salix were asked by Environment Agency Wales to advise on methods to restore a 100 metre reach of the River Thaw which had been subject to physical degradation by overgrazing and cattle poaching.
Salix supplied 9000m2 of VMax3 Shear stress turf in September 2009. Just 2 months later the area experienced the worst flooding in 25 years of recording with floods exceeding the 1:30 year events of 2004/2005.
A private developer had back gardens adjacent to a river that when in flood created severe scour issues. Initial river modelling indicated flow velocities in excess of 3.5m/sec.
The River Roding is an inter-tidal river and these works were undertaken 100m upstream of the Barking Barrier, Greater London. The works were part of an Environment Agency environmental enhancement project with both flood defence and nature conservation in mind.
Colliery shale and sandy soils have one thing in common; both are highly susceptible to erosion by flowing water. Both soil types were present on site.
A large drainage channel designed to take flows of up to 3m/sec was created to take runoff water from a 741 acre site at Waverley, one of Europe’s biggest collieries.
Salix were contracted by Mansell construction to dredge the contaminated Goit forming Kelham Island and working closely with ecologists ECUS to create marginal habitat.
A new development had slope stability issues due to an adjacent cobble bed watercourse badly eroding the soils and downcutting the bed within the channel.
Medmerry is one of the stretches of coastline most at risk of flooding in southern England. The overall scheme involves building major new sea defences inland and allowing a new intertidal area to form…
Following works within Worden Park to remove a culverted section of Cricket Field Brook that was the cause of flooding to neighbouring residential properties, a long term solution was required…
Living willow has been used as a method of controlling riverbank erosion for centuries. Salix employ traditional techniques and more modern approaches based upon the site specific erosion process.
Salix produce a range of brushwood faggots (fascines) for use in rivers, canals and lakes. We use brushwood from sustainable sources and can supply various timber types including Ash, Hazel and Willow.
The integrity of the existing blockwork facing was deteriorating as a result of the tidal inundation and draw-down cycles together with areas of groundwater seepages emanating from the slope profile.
The River Teme is a sensitive SSSI and SAC river and over 150 metres of severe bank erosion was threatening a National Grid pipeline.