North Yorkshire

9-Acre Lake Restoration

This 9-acre lake had hardly been touched since its construction in 1854.

The lake was formed by damming the valley and is fed by two streams collecting water from the North York Moors.

Technically, it is classed as a reservoir as more than 25,000m3 of water is stored above ground level. Therefore, under the Reservoirs Act 1975, it is regularly inspected by panel engineers to assess the structural integrity of the dam.

The Brief

  • Assess the volume of silt in the lake
  • Recommend how much silt to remove
  • Consider aesthetic enhancements, particularly when viewed from the main drive approaching the house

Before

After

Surveys


Extensive bathymetric and estate-wide topographical surveys enabled the production of design drawings to support the planning application to drain down, de- silt and re-shape the lake.

Bathymetric and topographical survey
New lake profile
Bathymetric survey
Drone Survey

Design
3D rendered images helped to bring our concept to life.
Click here to see rendered flyover
Proposed view from the driveway

De-Silting
The lake was drained down using syphons over the dam. The fish were caught and temporarily rehomed in another of the estate’s lakes. Topsoil across the parkland was stripped and set aside ahead of the de-silting work.
20,000m³ of silt was removed, dried and spread over the parkland prior to being covered with the original topsoil. It was then drained, cultivated and re-seeded.
A further 8,000m³ of subsoil was excavated from within the lake and subsequently landscaped to form the new lake design. This resulted in a softer, meandering lake edge detail.
We designed and installed a 20m clear span footbridge over. A steel-framed arch with Accoya timber handrails. Spanning the neck of the lake, this new feature frames the view from the driveway.

One Year Later

Completion