Project Overview

The River Leven and its tributaries are a vital part of the local landscape in Fife, as well as being great assets to the communities that live alongside them.

They provide a wide range of benefits, including:

• Wildlife corridors for plants, insects, and animal life.
• Opportunities for recreation, such as fishing and water sports.
• Natural flood management.
• Health and well-being, such as places to spend time and relax.

Physical modifications (including dams, narrowing, and straightening), due to the area’s industrial past and designed landscapes, has put significant environmental pressure on these waterways.

In recent years the partnership has been working to restore a 2 ½ mile stretch of the River Leven flowing from Cameron Bridge to Leven. This project is now complete! Here we’ll share information about this journey and where we plan to go from here.

Project Exploration and Design

The project was explored by partners following the 2019 study by CREW on the ‘River Leven Catchment Initiative’ which reviewed and synthesised knowledge of the water environment within the River Leven catchment, including the condition of its rivers, lochs and groundwater.

A wide range of technical stakeholders were involved and engaged in the co-design of this project from the beginning, including Scottish Water, Forth Rivers Trust, NatureScot and flooding colleagues within SEPA and Fife Council. And in December 2022, proposals for designed interventions were shared with the local community and the feedback received helped to shape the final restoration improvements.

The final design options, developed by cbec eco-engineering, included:

1. Creation of shallow ‘ponded’ areas to promote wetland and wet woodland habitat.
2. Large wood structures placed along and within the river to encourage natural processes and provide shelter for fish, birds and invertebrates.
3. The construction of a ‘nature-like’ rock ramp at Kirkland Dam upstream (working around the existing water pipeline at the top of the dam) to remove the jump which was restricting the movement of fish. This creates a rough surface on the face of the dam and provides areas of faster and slower flowing water to help the fish move up and down the structure more easily.
4. The full removal of the redundant Burn Mill Dam downstream, opening the river to improved flow and fish passage.
5. The creation of floodplain scrapes and planting of native trees and wetland plants along the riverbanks and floodplain areas to improve biodiversity and encourage the development of wet woodland habitat.
6. Removing rock and stone bank protection and replacing with greener, more sustainable alternatives.
   

 

 

Kirkland Dam (before)	Burn Mill Dam (before)

 

Restoration Construction

Phase 1 - Summer 2023

Click here to watch a short video which was published ahead of the first phase of construction.

Phase 1 of the restoration works took place in Summer 2023, upstream of Kirkland Dam. Improvements works in this section included:

• The creation of hallow ‘ponded’ areas to promote wetland and wet woodland habitat.
• Large wood placed along and within the river to provide shelter for fish, birds and invertebrates.
• Reprofiling the banks of the lower Kennoway Burn to improve its connection with the floodplain.  
• Planting of native trees and wetland plants along the riverbanks and floodplain areas to improve biodiversity and encourage important wet woodland habitat.

Phase 2 - Summer 2024

Click here to watch a short video which was published ahead of the second and final phase of construction.

Phase 2 of works, which designed out the use of concrete, began in Summer 2024 between Kirkland Dam upstream, and Burn Mill Dam downstream, with construction works undertaken by McGowan Environmental. Improvement works in this section included:

• Construction of a nature-like rock ramp on the Kirkland Dam using locally-sourced stone and reused material to mimic a natural, steep section of river channel and make it easier for fish to migrate up and downstream. This part of the project required very careful placing of the several thousand tonnes of meticulously cleaned stone.

 

 

• Creation of six floodplain scrapes, planted with over 4,000 native wetland plants, with additional habitat diversity created through three "island/perch" features installed in the nearby wetland.

 

 

• Full removal of Burn Mill Dam to make it easier for fish to migrate up and downstream and to re-instate the natural movement of flow and sediment through this section of the river. 

 

 

• Implementation of reprofiling green bank measures along a 100m section downstream of the old creosote site, using rock rolls and pre-vegetated coir rolls.
• Removal of a small section of gabion baskets at Dam Wood and the reprofiling of the bank to enhance the river’s natural flow and habitat.
• Native tree planting, including willow, alder and birch, in early 2025 around the floodplain near the Kirkland rock ramp to complement the revitalised riverside landscape.

Reflections

There were so many highlights during this project and here we’d like to reflect on a few:

• In July 2024, the project caught the attention of Dam Removal Europe who livestreamed the removal of Burn Mill Dam and interviewed the project team on the restoration works.
• In September 2024, First Minister John Swinney visited the construction site at Kirkland Dam, and met with wider Leven Programme projects, as part of the launch of the Scottish National Adaption Plan 2024-2029.
• In November 2023 and then again in November 2024, students from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) visited the project site as part of their courses including Environmental Management and Wildlife and Conservation Management.

The team would like to thank all project partners (including at Fife Coast & Countryiside Trust, Fife Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency), funders (including the Water Environment Fund) and stakeholders (including landowners, regulators and local councillors) whose support and engagement with the project made it all possible. And a massive thank you to the local community for their patience and interest during construction works.

Going Forward

December 2024 marked the completion of construction works and the beginning of a 12-month monitoring and evaluation period of the site as it settles in. The project team will be keeping an eye on the site during heavy rainfall to ensure the structures and improvement works remain in place and manage the flow and any flooding as they have been designed to do.

Following the success of the River Leven restoration, final designs for Restoring the Back Burn are underway, with construction due to commence in Summer 2025. Feasibility is also underway on the Rosyth Rivers project as part of Fife’s wider River Restoration Programme.

For further information on the Restoring the River Leven project or to share your views, please contact Fiona Skiffington, River Restoration Project Manager at Fife Coast & Countryside Trust:

fiona.skiffington@fifecountryside.co.uk