Riverbank Repair at Iburndale Beck

Case Study: Iburndale Beck, Iburndale Lane, Sleights, North Yorks, UK

In 2006, the construction of a series of 4-5 luxury bedroom houses in the village of Sleights, North Yorkshire necessitated the reinforcement of a riverbank on Iburndale Beck, a tributary of the River Esk. Planning permission called for a long-term erosion protection system to be installed along the riverbank, running the entire length of the housing development.

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After careful consideration, the Flex MSE® Geomodular Block & Interlocking Plate System was specified as opposed to less environmentally friendly & costly solutions (i.e. gabion baskets). Flex MSE® was chosen to provide a sustainable, permanent, green solution to the project.

Flex MSE’s® engineered geomodular system was chosen as a flexible, simple to install solution that would provide high & low-level protection against scour, erosion & flood events.

All the Flex MSE® GTX Bags & patented Interlocking Plates were filled with a 66:34 sand & compost mix, and installed by hand in a fraction of the time it would take to install traditional systems. The GTX bags below the water line were filled with 20mm free-draining gravel. The proprietary fill medium allows for flexibility over time, promotes vegetation growth whilst still being free-draining and does not compact over time.

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The system was vegetated via hydroseeding, with a basic native seed mix. Approximately 12 months post-installation, the Flex MSE® installation was fully covered in vegetation. Once fully covered, Flex MSE® was able to blend in with its natural environment, maintain native biodiversity as well as offer permanent integrity (120-year design life).

The Flex MSE® GTX bags are both water & root permeable, and UV-stabilised, acting as a scour protection at the face, withstanding high flowrates during flood events.

In the 16 years since installation, the Flex MSE® vegetated Wall System has remained stable with the GTX bags remaining intact showing no signs of degradation. A wide range of native vegetation has increased and continues to provide a sustainable green erosion control solution with biodiversity and environmental benefits.

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