Spawning Gravel Habitat Creation

On Foston Beck, years of modification have created an unnatural, deep, wide channel with flows regulated by a historic mill structure. As a result, the bed of the stream is covered in silt. Fish such as trout, grayling, chub and barbel need clean, highly oxygenated gravel in which to spawn. The mill creates a barrier which is impossible for these fish to pass as they attempt to find their natural spawning grounds.

In March 2026 we created a roughly 25m stretch of chalk based spawning gravel, allowing fish to breed successfully in this area, possibly for the first time since the late 1800’s. 80 tonnes of gravel were used, after months of planning and site visits. We are extremely grateful to Lewis Mills Construction, Alan Mullinger and to the neighbouring landowners who all helped make this possible.

The project was funded by the Environment Agencies Chalk Resilience funding.

The second picture below shows the machine putting the gravel, carefully into place. Care was taken to divert flow away from he banks to prevent erosion occurring.

The third picture below shows a more dynamic stream with clean spawning gravel, variations in flow, a scour pool and higher levels of oxygen.