Situated in the central lakes in Cumbria, Goldrill Beck flows from south to north connecting Brothers Water to Ullswater. Whilst the majority of the Beck is bound by fields, a large section had historically been moved to run alongside the A592. Whilst the exact reasons for this is still unknown, it’s likely due to farming requirements in years gone by.
For years flooding in the area has been a regular occurrence however it was becoming more prevalent. When Storm Desmond hit in 2015 homes and businesses in the Ullswater valley were left devasted by the floods, buildings were submerged, bridges collapsed and key infrastructure undermined. This had a huge impact on the local community who faced lengthy road closures to make expensive and unsustainable temporary hard engineered repairs.
Working alongside partners, including The Environment Agency and Natural England, Ebsford developed a scheme that would provide lasting and sustainable improvements to Goldrill Beck. The beck would be moved away from the road and become a more natural course, allowing the wider landscape to absorb the effects of the weather. A range of in river features were also created which will not only help to regulate flows, but also those that are consistent with that of a healthy riverine environment. These include pools, riffles, transverse bars, point bars, berms and backwaters. Other floodplain features such as woody debris, scrapes and embankment removal also took place to further provide habitat and to also encourage regular river floodplain connectivity.
An overarching methodology was developed which focused on protecting the downstream water environment at every stage of construction. The majority of the works were completed offline with silt fencing installed on the floodplain to capture any construction run off should the river burst during construction. A dedicated water quality testing officer carried out regular testing of DO and Turbidity to ensure minimal impact on the wildlife within the river. As a final line of defence, a range of in channel defences including silt screens, Sedimats, straw bales and silt wattles were installed.
In total the project involved excavating in excess of 16000 m3 of material to facilitate the new channel. Working with the National Trust and Aecom we together identified a way to recycle this material to re-use the gravels within the river features. Remaining spoil was able to be retained on site as floodplain features. This saved the National Trust in excess of £100,000 and stopped 5000 m3 of material going to landfill.
The 6-month long project that has been in the planning for many years has been hugely successful in improving flood resilience of valley communities, protecting the road in a sustainable way whilst also improving water quality and creating new opportunities for nature to flourish. The scheme was delivered on budget with the delivery teams showing great flexibility to add and tweak features as construction progressed over time.
