All of our news from the last few months

Project Work Updates

The Don at Luib Bridge, Aberdeenshire

Over time, the channel upstream of this site migrated, so the river began to approach the bridge at an oblique angle. As a result, river flow passed through the flood arch, which is an additional bridge opening designed to carry water during floods, even under normal conditions. This caused issues with sediment build-up (sedimentation) and instability around the bridge. Our design took a nature-based approach to river management. We straightened the channel's approach to the bridge and used large wood training log structures—arrangements of logs placed in the river to guide water flow and limit channel movement. These discourage future channel migration and help direct typical flows through the bridge’s main arch, eliminating the need for hard engineering, such as concrete or metal structures, which often cause erosion elsewhere.

Photos courtesy of Aberdeen Council and construction done by CRC.Scot.

Kirkland Dam Removal, The River Leven

Fantastic footage of the Kirkland Dam on the lower River Leven. The dam formed part of the wider River Leven restoration design developed by CBEC.  The works at the dam involved construction of a ‘nature-like’ rock ramp onto the existing structure to allow fish passage under a much greater range of flows. The drone footage was taken in October 2024, not long after works had been completed. It's now had a chance to settle in and has become far more vegetated! It’s looking fantastic!

Thanks to McGowan Group, Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Fife Council, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for all your hard work on this amazing project.

Also, thank you to our colleagues at RSK Geosciences who undertook sediment sampling and water quality assessments to guide the designs, and Advantage RSK, who provided procurement and NEC contract management support!

Our illustration of the new nature-like rock ramp, and the actual ramp after construction 

Girnock Burn, Aberdeenshire

Wood features are now installed in the Girnock Burn, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (our designs). Large Wood is essential for healthy rivers, providing habitats for birds like kingfishers, shelter/ temperature refugia for fish, and breeding sites for dragonflies. It supports a diverse aquatic ecosystem and helps drive physical adjustment of the river channel, leading to further improved biodiversity. Increased physical diversity also provides habitat opportunities for fish and other instream species during drought conditions, representing an important climate change resilience mechanism.

Wood also alters river flow, creating areas of fast and slow currents; faster flows helps clean the riverbed, maintaining gravel for fish spawning, while slower areas accumulate sediment, storing in more appropriate locations and promoting vegetation establishment. The added roughness associated with large wood helps reconnect the river to its floodplain, creating wetland habitats, and reducing flood risk.

Large wood placed in the Girnock Burn

Woodhall Chalk Stream, Hertfordshire

Vegetation emerging at the site

Phase III of the River Beane restoration at Woodhall Estate, Hertfordshire is thriving. You can see how a few months can make a huge difference. The project was constructed from late summer 2024 through to early 2025, with CBEC acting as the Principal Designer and supervising the construction phase. The design was developed to reconnect the Beane with the floodplain and create a more natural sinuous channel more in keeping with chalk stream conditions (i.e., multi-thread, connected with water meadows, high groundwater level. The design also considered improving habitat for the water vole, otter, kingfisher, and fish species. 

The site in its early completion and the site a few months on

Rickmansworth Aquadrome Landscape and Environmental Design Project 

CBEC, in partnership with Stephenson Halliday, is delighted to announce we have been commissioned to deliver the Rickmansworth Aquadrome Landscape and Environmental Design Project for Three Rivers District Council. The project will be led by CBEC’s Senior Project Manager, Ryan Adam, with Sam McArthur serving as Principal Designer.

This ambitious initiative brings together a consortium of nine RSK Group companies—including (RSK Geoscience, RSK Biocensus, LDE, RSK Fellows, Hi-Line, ADAS, Salix, Stephenson Halliday, and CBEC) alongside two specialist sub-contractors, Haley Sharpe and Linky Thinks. Together, we will develop detailed designs to enhance the chalk river habitat of the Lower Colne, including the removal of a redundant weir, improving fish passage over another major weir, and reconnecting the Colne with a large wet woodland within the aquadrome to boost floodplain connectivity.

Our visual interpretation of one of the sites after the planned work

The project will also address lakeshore erosion and deliver habitat enhancements for Bury and Batchworth Lakes, enhancing the rich mosaic of habitats across the aquadrome. CBEC will be responsible for environmental design while Stephenson Halliday will lead on landscape master planning, aiming to improve the visitor experience and strengthen the connection between the people of Rickmansworth and their local environment.

Ardhuncart Restoration, Aberdeenshire

CBEC undertook an Estate-wide scoping study in 2023, to identify opportunities for river restoration on the River Don and select tributaries.  Following this initial study, the Ardhuncart Estate has begun to implement some of these measures, including the installation of 16 large wood structures (LWS) this summer. Installation of LWS on the River Don is intended to enhance natural physical river processes and habitat diversity, including the provision of organic material and shading of the riverbed. Geomorphologically suitable locations for structure installation were selected, and construction was supervised by CBEC, with works undertaken by CR Contracting North Ltd (CRC), and supporting advice provided by the Don District Salmon Fisheries Board. Following the successful implementation, these structures will continue to be visually monitored over subsequent years to assess the effectiveness of this measure and the resultant geomorphological improvements. 

Large wood in place in the channel

Ardhuncart Estate has also undertaken riparian planting along one of the tributaries, as recommended in the initial scoping study of the CBEC. Tree saplings were sourced from the Woodland Trust, and planting was undertaken with assistance from volunteers at the River Don and River Dee District Salmon Fisheries Boards. Plans for the Ardhuncart Estate, subject to acquisition of funding, include wetland creation for wading birds and natural flood management, porous log jam installation to rewet a bog, as well as further expansions of their riparian planting efforts. 

News

New Team Members

Fraser Macmillan

We'd like to welcome Fraser Macmillan to the team!  Fraser is a graduate from the University of Stirling, firstly graduating in Environmental Geography with Outdoor Education (BSc) and more recently gaining an MSc in Environmental Management.  He joins us as a Consultant Topographic Surveyor.  For more information about Fraser, please go here.

New Technical Service!

CBEC now offers a Monitoring and Evaluation service. To help create clear methods for using restoration designs, like adding wood to rivers, improving habitats, or restoring natural river forms, the company does many hands-on field surveys to support innovative work in the restoration industry.  CBEC’s monitoring expertise includes undertaking metrics-based monitoring, applying various Rapid Assessment Protocols, and using numerical simulation modelling.  We are also involved in the development of rational programmes of evaluation that provide the cause-and-effect framework within which to review the outcomes of monitoring activities.  Click here to find out more

Team members out taking notes

Illustration Service

CBEC offers an illustrative service to promote potential visual results for project plans. Please have a look at our Graphics/Illustration brochure below for details, or get in touch by clicking here

Brochures

Technical Services