Traditional methods ‘the best’ for preventing river bank erosion

The banks of Lincolnshire’s River Ancholme have been blighted by erosion problems for years. Now, the Environmental Agency is planning to protect the banks using techniques that date back centuries.

Up until now, the Environment Agency has attempt to support the banks using methods taken from modern engineering, including wooden planks, steel piles and frost proof paving stones. However, all of these only last a short time before they need replacing.

The EA has now decided to use the traditional technique of willow spilling to protect a 4 kilometre stretch along the banks of the Ancholme. Willow spilling involves weaving a screen of living willow through wooden stakes along the riverbank. This creates a mass of roots, which protect the soil on the banks from erosion.

Keith Stothard, who is overseeing the implementation of willow spilling for the EA, said: “This traditional craft has many advantages over other bank protection methods”

These advantages include the indefinite life span of the willow, and the fact that a natural product is being used, which in turn provides a home for riverside wildlife.

Furthermore, the method saves money, because the EA is “using willow that has been cut from the banks of the River Trent during routine maintenance and making good use of it.”

Stothard concluded: “Sometimes the old methods really are the best.”