Wildlife and water quality at Lustrum Beck in Stockton-on-Tees will be given a much-needed boost as work begins on a significant project to enhance river habitat.  

Historically, the beck has been heavily modified – straightened, widened and deepened – resulting in the loss of vital habitats and ecosystems as well as restricting fish movement. 

The Lustrum Beck habitat restoration project will help recover 1.5km of the beck for migrating fish, whilst also encouraging iconic species to the area such as water vole, otters and dragonflies.

Water quality improvements in this tributary of the Tees estuary will also be supported as part of the ongoing works.  

This ambitious project is led by the Environment Agency in partnership with the Tees Rivers Trust and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and will be complete by summer this year.  

Lustrum Beck forms part of the £30m Tees Tidelands Programme, a ground-breaking set of projects, officially launched in 2023, which will help the River Tees estuary and tributaries adapt to climate change, restore valuable habitat for internationally important wildlife and reconnect people to their local environment.  

The work at Lustrum Beck includes:   

• Installing deflectors and woody material into the channel to create a variety of flow and habitat conditions that reduce sediment build-up and encourage greater biodiversity.
• Lowering redundant embankments to connect the beck to river side ponds and grassland.
• Excavating scrapes at areas of existing wet grassland to provide more resilient water environments. Scrapes are shallow dips designed to hold water without increasing flood risk. They provide vital habitat for wading birds and other wildlife.

Paul Eckersley, Project Executive for the Environment Agency, said:   

This exciting project will bring a welcome boost to biodiversity in the heart of Stockton after decades of modification. Working with our partners, we’re restoring river features and wetland to improve biodiversity and water quality.  

This project is just one part of the much wider Tees Tidelands programme of work, bringing multiple benefits to the area through the realigning of flood defences as well as restoring river and intertidal habitat.

Councillor Nigel Cooke, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Leisure and Culture, said:  

Lustrum Beck is a wonderful wildlife haven running through the middle of Stockton that is enjoyed by many people of all ages. 

We are pleased to be working alongside our partner, the Environment Agency, on this ambitious restoration scheme to further enhance Lustrum Beck’s wildlife habitat and water quality. It aligns with the Council’s aspirations to protect and enhance the natural environment as set out in our Environmental Sustainability and Carbon Reduction Strategy.

Ben Lamb, CEO at Tees Rivers Trust, said:

Lustrum Beck is a fairly typical urban stream – straightened, deepened, littered and, on the surface at least – devoid of life.

However, look a little more closely and there is plenty going on in the beck – freshwater shrimp, the occasional mayfly and other invertebrates providing a food source for minnows, stickleback and the endangered European eel, which provide food for otter, egret, heron and kingfisher – all of which can be found along the beck corridor alongside the occasional water vole. 

However, there is a huge amount of work to be done to improve the beck and this project will create more habitat and flow diversity within the channel which will provide more opportunity for a range of species to thrive.

The positive comments and offers of help to clean up the beck that we have received from residents around the beck have been incredible and we will be providing training and equipment to help monitor and improve the beck even more after the construction phase of the project has been completed.