River Quaggy: Lewisham

River in July

Salix provided Coir Rolls and Coir Pallets to provide instant vegetation and habitat on the deculverted River Quaggy.

Hoveton Broad, Wetlands Restoration

Hoveton Broad established

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

Flooding and erosion prevention in Sheffield

Porter Brook - an oasis for wildlife

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.

Flashy Floods in Car Park Solved

Coir Rolls pre-established with native plants providing erosion control at Porter Brook

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

Erosion Control Aqualog

Aqualogs are available in 2 by 0.2 m

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

Products Used in Habitat Creation Project With Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Coir Pallets establishing at Snaith Ponds - Photo by Carys Hutton

Creating habitats in a flood protection project with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust & Environment Agency at Snaith Ponds, using our Coir Pallets & native plants

The Avenue, Erosion Control & Habitat Creation Within SuDS on Old Contaminated Land

Eronet c125 will ensure that the soil behind the Coir Rolls and Pallets does not get washed away whilst plants establish

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

Naturalising a Stream at Bedlinog

Bedlinog post works with riffles and more natural flows

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.

Conwy Spillway Success

Conwy overtopping winter 2015

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.

River Washburn Restoration

Spider Menzi Muck Excavator moving large woody debris below Swinsty Reservoir

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.

Coir Rolls Aid Biodiversity Boom

Selection Of Unplanted and Pre-Established 200mm and 300mm Coir Rolls

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.

Cwmparc River Restoration

Spider machine at Cwmparc

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.

Water works at Walthamstow Wetlands

walthamstow by Steve Ayers

The latest stage of the transformation of Walthamstow Wetlands into the largest wetland nature reserve in London will see the creation of new reedbeds to help preserve water quality and improve wildlife habitats.

Bridging the Ecological and Engineering Gap

Pre-established coir rolls and pallets

Bridging the ecological and engineering gap with our effective bio-engineering solutions

Woodberry Wetlands

Woodberry reedbeds vegetating

Desilting a large reservoir in the heart of London and creating a new wetland habitat. Dredging silts enabled us to create 13,000 square metres of new reed bed

The Spider on the River Washburn

Machine in action at Swinsty

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 – Effective Erosion Control

Rock rolls arrive in bundles with certified lifting straps

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.

Slowing the flow at Cwmparc

Cwmparc and the spider in action

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,

Woodberry in the Guardian

Woodberry Wetlands desilting work

Wildlife gardening on a colossal scale, The Guardian admires our Woodberry Wetlands work. Desilting large areas of the old reservoirs to create new reedbeds.

Restoring East Tullos Burn

Native plants, reed beds and pond at East Tullos

East Tullos Burn project transformed a waterway from a straight, hard-engineered channel, into a natural stream, functional floodplain and wetland habitat.

Naturalising Norfolk’s Chalk Rivers

Babingley river restoration work using woody debris

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.

Wetland Creation for New Wildlife Reserve

New reedbed and wetland area being created

We have started pump dredging/desilting at Woodberry Wetlands in East London, creating new reed beds and islands. Our desilting work uses an amphibious machine…

Salix helps naturalise the chalk River Nar

Long Reach Excavators

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.

Improving wildlife habitats on the Royal chalk River Babingley

Babingley chalk river restoration

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.

Salix to showcase innovative phosphorus removal techniques

Phosphorus is one of the most common parameters causing a watercourse to fail water quality standards set out under the Water Framework Directive. 

Naturalising a Stream: Bedlinog

Bedlinog coir roll application

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.

Lake Desilting & Environment Improved at Ifield Mill Pond

Installing Ifield boardwalk piles


Salix is working with Crawley Borough Council and Jacksons Civil Engineering to help improve Ifield Mill Pond & Water Gardens,

Salix Rock Rolls Protect Titchwell Marsh

Titchwell Marshes Rock Rolls close up

As part of a series of measures to protect the freshwater habitats at Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve on the north Norfolk coast,

Lake Desilting & Biodiversity Improvements at Midhurst’s South Pond

Revetments at Midhurst

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.

New wetland habitats at East Tullos Burn

East Tullos map

Salix has worked with Aberdeen City Council, cbec and Walking-the-Talk to restore the East Tullos Burn in St Fittick’s Park, Torry,

Salix is now Europe’s largest producer of coir fibre rolls

coconut husks

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.

Olympic Park Wetlands

Olympic Park

Salix were involved in making the Olympic Park a reality, when we were awarded the prestigious Tier 2 Contract in 2009 to grow all the wetland and wet wildflower plants…

M25 Road Widening

M25 45 degree slope consisting of 6F2 fill material zero soil

Salix were tasked with greening up a 45 degree slope consisting of 6F2 fill. The initial design was a covering of 150mm of topsoil over an area of about 8,000m2 using a geocell product attached to the surface of the slope to contain the soil and prevent it from slipping.

Coir Pallets

Purple Loosestrife flowering within pre-established coir pallets at Salix nursery

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

Selection Of Unplanted and Pre-Established 200mm and 300mm Coir Rolls

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.

Royal Parks, Serpentine Lake

Floating Islands on the Serpentine

As part of a programme of wildlife habitat improvements in the Royal Parks, Salix have been awarded a contract to create large floating wetland islands on the Serpentine Lake in London’s Hyde Park.

Medmerry Realignment Scheme

Water vole works EA photo

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.

BioHaven Innovation

floating island wetlands

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.

Rock’n’Roll!

Rock rolls arrive in bundles with certified lifting straps

Rock Rolls are a robust, flexible and permanent revetment for use around reservoirs, shorelines, lake edges,

Tough Test on The Teme

River Teme 4 machines placing fill

The River Teme is a sensitive SSSI and SAC river and over 150 metres of severe bank erosion was threatening a National Grid pipeline.

Under The Boardwalk

Wetland plants in pots

Richmond Royal Parks is a walkover for Salix and Sir David Attenborough’s Volunteers.

In our last newsletter and in the piece On Her Majesty’s Service we featured the start of our works at Richmond Royal Parks,

Better Banks!

Lewes in Aug 2015

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.

On Her Majesty’s Service…

Plants grown in cells to order

Work has commenced at one of our most prestigious locations to date The Royal Parks.

We have been appointed as a result of being able to demonstrate our experience in working in environmentally sensitive areas whilst employing our own specialist staff and machinery to minimise the impact of our works.

Gloucester Business Park

Gloucester Business Park

A new warehouse complex required a large balancing pond to take surface runoff water. The pond had steep sides which required some form of ground stabilisation.

Cwmbran Boating Lake

Cwmbran Boating Lake

The boating lake was a popular local attraction and fishing lake. The lake edges were in bad repair with little or no marginal vegetation. Floating islands were also required to add further habitat for fish and wildfowl.

Longham Lakes

Longham lakes

Working for Bournemouth & West Hants Water, Salix were appointed as Main Contractor to undertake 2km of bioengineering works to stabilise the shoreline of a new reservoir.

Foss Dyke Bank Stabilisation

Bank Stabilisation

A rise in pleasure boating on the Foss resulted in severe boat wash. Monitoring revealed that the rate of bank erosion was up to 2.5 metres in a year over a 2km stretch.

Papworth Reedbeds

Papworth wetlands and reedbeds

After a competitive bid process, Salix designed and built a tertiary treatment reedbed for Anglian Water at their Papworth STW. Salix partnered with Pete Worrall of Penny Anderson Associates and a unique design approach was developed.

Twycross Zoo Wetlands

Established wetlands at Twycross

As Principle contractor, Salix constructed a 3 hectare wetland system to provide waste water treatment and habitat creation. 18 integrated ponds, wet grassland, reedbeds and ditches were constructed for Twycross Zoo.

Pembroke Commons

Pembroke Commons revegetion river restoration

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.

River Pinn Enhancement

River restoration works

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.

River Thaw Enhancement

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.

Pre-filled Rock Roll

Rock rolls provide an instant flexible solution to many scour problems

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.

Pre-filled Rock Mattresses

Rock Mattress installed Lockwood Reservoir with built in lifting strops

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…

Beacon Park

Dredging in front of Lichfield Cathedral

Salix were employed by main contractor Casey to undertake the restoration work to Beacon Pool for Lichfield Council on this Heritage lottery funded project.

Kelham Island Goit

Kelham Goit

Salix were contracted by Mansell construction to dredge the contaminated Goit forming Kelham Island and working closely with ecologists ECUS to create marginal habitat.

Water Vole Habitat Works

channel-1-year-after-restoration

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.

Upper Lake, Perton

A two hectare area of open water had extensive embankment erosion due to massive populations of Canada Geese

A two hectare area of open water had extensive embankment erosion due to massive populations of Canada Geese which created public health & safety issues.

Grand Union Canal

Chaser on river restoration

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.

Soham Lode Re-visited

important water vole site

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…

Water Vole Habitat Mitigation

Whole Site Aerial 19.09.13 Copyright of the Environment Agency

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…

River Tywi

River Tywi Pipeline Protection

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.

Worden Park Leyland

Completed drainage channel

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

Established wetlands at Twycross

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.

Live Willow Revetments

Live Willow Revetments

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.

Brushwood faggot/fascine

Brushwood Faggots

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.

Railway Lane, Lewes

Before work commenced railway line Lewes

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.

River Teme Restoration

River Teme Restoration

The River Teme is a sensitive SSSI and SAC river and over 150 metres of severe bank erosion was threatening a National Grid pipeline.