The Hoveton Wetlands Restoration project aims to deliver the restoration of Hoveton Great Broad (HGB) and Hudson’s Bay. Salix were appointed by Natural England to complete a major desilting and dredging project
Hoveton Broad, Wetlands Restoration

The Hoveton Wetlands Restoration project aims to deliver the restoration of Hoveton Great Broad (HGB) and Hudson’s Bay. Salix were appointed by Natural England to complete a major desilting and dredging project
As an ecologically sensitive site the use of traditional hard engineered bank protection was not an option and Salix’s bioengineered designs were favoured.
This large roadside project involved creating 28km of green engineered roadside swales on 14km of dual carriageway.
Six weeks after treatment we had significant plant growth on Type-1 aggregate. Zero soil. No imported topsoil or subsoil. Simply Type 1 fill material.
Jack’s Keys needed a rapid response to scour and erosion problems.
Our pre-filled Rock Mattresses and Rock Rolls were the answer, our Menzi Muck Spider machine was able to climb in and place them in the river bed.
Creating a reed bed on an intertidal part of the Thames river is challenging – but Salix achieved a fantastic result as a consequence of their unique design approach.
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
Aqualogs are a durable fibre log made from waste material destined for landfill. They are effective revetments used in erosion management and they also happen to improve water quality
Creating habitats in a flood protection project with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust & Environment Agency at Snaith Ponds, using our Coir Pallets & native plants
VMax C350 & Eronet are used on this hydro project to protect the inlet channel and surrounding soils from erosion, working with nature for natural solutions
Salix have been appointed as specialist contractors to deal with the erosion control and habitat creation within a SuDS for a mix of housing and business parks at The Avenue
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.
Salix were approached as river restoration experts and because of the innovative Menzi Muck Spider machine which is capable of climbing in and out of a river causing little disturbance.
Our Coir Rolls are superb at erosion control and they are also brilliant for wildlife. Wildlife such as Water Voles benefit enormously from the immediate cover that the mature plants provide and also from the carefully thought out planting.
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.
As part of its work to help develop the new European-funded Cleanleach leachate purification system, Salix River & Wetlands Services is attending the HTA’s Plant Health Conference at National Agri-Food Innovation Campus, York Feb 2016
Salix’s River Dulais project demonstrating the use of large woody debris (LWD) is now ten years old and has been is included in the manual of River Restoration Techniques.
Bridging the ecological and engineering gap with our effective bio-engineering solutions
Our Technical Director, David Holland, has been in the most recent edition of CIWEM’sThe Environment Magazine talking about the value of our 3D reinforced turf mats in erosion control.
Innovative spider machine helps restore wildlife habitats on the River Washburn. Yorkshire Water’s trial works to improve the quality of the river environment downstream of Swinsty reservoir is now well underway.
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.
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.
Salix has helped the Norfolk Rivers Trust to improve wildlife habitats on the chalk River Babingley, Hillington Estate near Flitcham, and River Nar at Pentney, near Kings Lynn.
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.
Working with the Norfolk Rivers Trust and cbec, Salix has just completed a project to help to improve wildlife habitats on a section of the chalk River Nar in west Norfolk.
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.
With the help of Salix, the Norfolk Rivers Trust is improving fish and other river wildlife habitats on the River Babingley near Flitcham, one of only two hundred chalk rivers left in the world.
Phosphorus is one of the most common parameters causing a watercourse to fail water quality standards set out under the Water Framework Directive.
Salix is sponsoring CIWEM’s one-day Winter Conference, to be held at the Brunei Gallery in Russell Square, London on 29 January 2015.
As part of a series of measures to protect the freshwater habitats at Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve on the north Norfolk coast,
The South Downs National Park Authority has commissioned Salix to help create a wildlife haven on the South Pond, at the edge of Midhurst town centre in West Sussex. The large 800-year old pond, which has a 270-metre perimeter and two small islands, had been suffering from pollution and heavy siltation.
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.
A 120 metre reach of river had been subject to ongoing bank instability issues. A gas pipeline set in the bank was dangerously close to being exposed and bank revetment options were considered.
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.
Salix produce a wide range of pre-established coir pallets planted with high quality native plant species. Coir pallets are composed from coir fibre which is a sustainable waste product from the husk of the coconut shell.
Coir Rolls are an organic living revetment that provide erosion control and rapid vegetation establishment. Salix have developed a range of specific species mixes for use in all types of water bodies.
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 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.
Tenth Anniversary of Salix’s Project on The River Dulais, Rhosmaen, Llandeilo.
Salix’s River Dulais project demonstrating the use of large woody debris (LWD) is now ten years old and we are delighted to announce that this ground breaking project has been included in the River Restoration Centre (RRC) Manual of Techniques.
Rock Rolls are a robust, flexible and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges,
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 designed and constructed a stream enhancement project at a gas pipeline river crossing as ecological mitigation to a degraded reach of stream as part of a major pipeline project.
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.
Salix worked with consulting geotechnical engineers to provide design and build proposals to stabilise over 800 metres of steep riverbank composed of highly erodible colliery shale.
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.
Salix were invited to submit a bioengineering solution to solve an erosion issue at a pipeline crossing in West Wales. The solution used a combination of locally harvested willow and Rock Rolls to provide a stable revetment in this cobble bed river.
Salix advised engineers Halcrow on bioengineering methods to stabilise a regraded slope as part of an inter-tidal river enhancement project. The existing vertical retaining wall provided no habitat value.
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.
The finished slope was 36 degrees, 40 metres in height and 60m wide. 250mm depth of topsoil was required, rather than the nominal 50-75mm, as cover for marginally contaminated on site fill material.
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.
Rock Rolls are a robust and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges, streams and river banks. They are cost-effective revetments that are suitable alternatives to rock rip rap and gabions in many scour applications.
Rock Mattresses are a robust and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges, streams and river banks. They are cost-effective revetments that are suitable alternatives to rock rip rap and gabions…
Salix successfully tendered for a pilot project to improve marginal vegetation along the River Wandle. The project formed part of a wider scheme to reintroduce water vole to the river.
The project aim was to restore a wetland area on the banks of the Grand Union Canal for the benefit of wildlife and the fishery. The scheme design ensured that no material was taken off site and that particular focus was on creating suitable habitat for Water Voles and amphibian species such as Newts.
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.
An important water vole site at Soham Lode required emergency re-lining of the perched section of the reach (approximately 600m) Following the emergency works, Salix were awarded a Design & Build contract on a competitive bid process…
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…
Salix were awarded a design and build contract to prevent further erosion of a section of the riverbank and reinstate a scour hole threatening a high pressure gas pipeline on the River Tywi.
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…
Floating Islands provide valuable ecological habitat, fish refuge cover and water purification within open water environments. Salix supply and install floating islands and can incorporate a diverse range of flowering species to increase the habitat and aesthetic value of the project.
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.