The Civil Engineering Contractors Association Scotland (CECA Scotland) is the representative body for companies who work day-to-day to deliver, upgrade, and maintain Scotland’s infrastructure.
With around 100 members across Scotland, CECA Scotland represents companies who together carry out an estimated 80 per cent of all civil engineering activity in our country, in the key sectors of transport, energy, communications, waste and water.
This year 2021/22 George Leslie have been nominated for their work on the Garrell Burn Restoration Project.
The Scottish Civil Engineering Awards are widely recognised as the highest honour for engineering excellence in the built environment. The awards showcase innovation and celebrate the vital contribution civil engineers make to our quality of life.
By restoring around 600m of the burn to a more natural lowland meandering platform, with a wider and shallower channel displaying gravel bars and pool features, the river will be able to accommodate a greater variety of wildlife and provide more attractive fish habitat. The channel also now allows the Garrell Burn to naturally flood into the wetland zone to help recharge the marsh with water.
George Leslie utilised 3D modelling software and GPS tracked machinery to create the meandering shape and 2 staged stepped channel that facilitates the install of gravel bed for fish spawning and soiled slopes for vegetation growth
Soft erosion protection measures were utilised to ensure vegetation growth but also allowing the opportunity for the burn to create / emphasis its own new meanders. SEPA’s guidance documents surrounding sustainable erosion protection measures indicate that for a high energy burn the most appropriate sustainable method of erosion protection and control is root wads. These are formed out of felled trees that are still attached to their original roots.
Three new footbridges have been installed with 2km of ULTITREC footpath which is a recycled pathway material produced from selected arisings from highway and maintenance works. It provides a sustainable, versatile and cost-effective surface to link these new bridges to the surrounding Dumbreck Marsh / Garrell Burn / River Kelvin and Kilsyth area.