River Restoration on the Lewes Winterbourne

We recently returned to the Lewes Winterbourne to carry out the second stage of vegetation clearance to allow additional sunlight onto the river, including tree crowning and bramble removal, concluding Southern Waters AMP7 WINEP implementation scheme. This follows our main works completed last year where we undertook the design and build of 260m of chalk stream restoration.

Since 2013, the Lewes Winterbourne has been classed as a Heavily Modified Water Body, and since 2015 classed as having “moderate ecological status”, in accordance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The primary objective of the Southern Water WINEP scheme was to help this waterbody achieve “good ecological status” by 2027.

FiveRivers carried out the following packages:

👷Early contractor involvement by attending a site visit with the client to discuss the project aims and suitable options.

⬆️ A preliminary Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) assessment.

🍃A preliminary ecological assessment (PEA).

💧A river condition assessment.

💻Detailed designs including hydraulic modelling and FRAP.

🪚 Construction of 4 berms, bank regrading, installation of 14 large woody deflectors, footpath enhancements including a new boardwalk and installation of a willow revetment.