Erosion Control & Revetments

Hard Revetments

These permanent structures are often used in high-energy environments where aggressive winds, waves and flows require robust revetments.

A range of options for hard revetments

Vertical walls. Created from sheet or timber piles, conventional masonry walls, or cellular wall systems. Where these walls are built against watercourses or even below the water line, they become a revetment.

Sloped or graded revetments. Generally lower impact and lower cost than a vertical equivalent. Where land is available for this solution, rip-rap (stone blankets), gabions (stone-filled baskets), concrete (interlocking blocks or panels) or open-stone asphalt can be used.

Soft Revetments

Soft revetments are created from sustainably sourced materials, offering malleable and flexible solutions for erosion control. Vertical edges are formed using timber poles combined with a woven geo-fabric retaining structure (Nicospan) or sustainably sourced hazel or willow faggots and bundles as in-fill panels between the poles.

Pre-grown coir mattresses and rolls planted with indigenous species are used to provide an instant living aquatic margin. These sustainable products are propagated and matured in our own 'wet' nursery at Abinger Hammer using spring water from the River Tillingbourne.

In high-energy environments, soft revetments can be combined with traditional details such as gabion baskets, mattresses and reinforced soil structures to offer additional strength and durability, stimulating the habitat.

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