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  • The Outstrays - February 2026 Update

    Update on Skeffling and Winestead Pumping Stations

    After a great construction season last year, JBA Bentley staff were able to finish building Skeffling pumping station in November, on time and according to their work schedule. The pumps were then tested in December and responsibility for their operation is due to be handed over to the Environment Agency this month or in March. The pumps have been specially designed to be eel friendly, allowing mature eels to migrate from the drains on site to the Sargasso Sea to spawn, but also allowing returning juvenile eels to safely pass from the sea to freshwater in Soak Drain. In recognition of this achievement, JBA Bentley manager Rob Culledge was invited to make a presentation about designing and building less damaging pumps at a European Knowledge Transfer conference in November last year.


    The new pumping station at Skeffling in December 2025, with a pond in the foreground, created to enhance the range of habitats on site

    In April demolition of the existing pumping station at Skeffling will begin with preparatory work commencing in March. Once this task is completed, the works compound off Long Lane will be removed. Part of the existing tarmacked site compound will then be turned into a public car park, big enough to hold 20 cars. In the autumn this year a plot next to the car park will be planted with seedlings of deciduous trees including maple, apple, cherry and oak and then surrounded by a hedgerow of hawthorn, blackthorn, holly and guelder rose. Deer proof fencing will be used around this to protect the young seedlings.

    JBA Bentley staff will also install the two remaining interpretation panels for the site. One will be placed in the new car park and the last one on the embankment, close to the old Skeffling pumping station, offering a map of the site to guide visitors around it.

    Work on Winestead pumping station will also restart in early March, with JBA Bentley staff returning to site at the end of February to prepare for the new construction season. If the weather is favourable and everything goes to plan, this pumping station should be completed by the end of the year. JBA Bentley will then return in 2027 to demolish the existing Winestead pumping station, once the new one is fully operational.



    Access on The Outstrays: Paths and Bridleways

    At both pumping station sites, we will still need to put in place some access restrictions this year to ensure the safety of all visitors to The Outstrays. These are described below.


    a) From the Eastern (Skeffling) end of the scheme

    In the last newsletter we mentioned our intention to remove the existing diversion onto Long Lane and open up the bridleway along the embankment, once work on the new Skeffling pumping station was completed. Currently there is a gate across the embankment top, and directions for walkers to follow the diversion to avoid going past the new pumping station. However, this change has been delayed as we must work out a design that will meet required bridleway standards of access whilst limiting vehicle access on top of the embankment. We have met with ERYC’s Public Right of Way officer to finalise plans for this and intend to open up the route along the embankment after the old pumping station is demolished. This route will not be suitable for disabled visitors; instead, wheelchair users and other disabled visitors should follow the route to the bridleway from the new Skeffling car park.
    The gate across the embankment at Skeffling pumping station, in place until after the pumping station is demolished

    The demolition of the old Skeffling pumping station in April this year should not affect public access along this section of the bridleway for site users. Our contractors will manage the site very carefully to maintain access and meet public safety standards whilst the work is carried out and the car park on the dry side of the embankment will still be open. However, visitors will no longer be able to park their cars on top of the embankment whilst the demolition is carried out.


    b) From the Western (Outstrays) end

    At some point later on this year, we anticipate that the track to the existing Winestead pumping station will need to be temporarily closed to the public. This is because the excavation of inlet and outlet channels to and from the new pumping station will cut cross this path to connect to Winestead Drain, resulting in vehicles working on the track. This work is likely to be in the summer / autumn months. We know that the track is a popular route for walkers and so hope to reopen it at the end of October this year, once the new pumping station is built. However, we’ll probably need to close it again in 2027 when work to demolish the old pumping station begins. We’ll provide more information about any restrictions here after plans for this year’s construction are finalised.

    Whilst work on the new Winestead pumping station continues during 2026, we will need to divert a section of the King Charles III England Coast Path (ECP) on Sunk Island around Outstrays Farm. We are currently working with ERYC officers and our contractors to develop a route for this and will give details of this diversion later in the year.


    c) Around the Wet Grassland Area and Haverfield

    The current route for the diversion of the ECP at Outstrays Farm (shown in darker blue on the map to the right), avoiding the small bridge over Winestead Drain, will continue until next year.

    In spite of this, the boundary track around the wet grassland area (shown in turquoise) remains open for now. However, this will be closed to the public when work begins to strengthen this bridge in 2027. After this work is completed, the ECP diversion will be permanently removed, avoiding the long trek to Patrington Haven and down Mulberry Lane.

    You can find an up-to-date version of the route for this section of the coast path at the ECP interactive website; King Charles III England Coast Path - North East Map and Information - National Trails. Just click on the map for the trail running from the Humber Bridge to Easington and enlarge the section from Sunk Island to Skeffling to see the route (turquoise line shown above). This is the approved route around the managed realignment site.
    Screenshot from the King Charles III England Coast Path website, showing the diversion of the path around the western end of the site

    Please be aware that if you are using an old map to navigate around the site, the paths shown will no longer be accurate. This includes former rights of way across the West Two wet grassland area which no longer exist. Crossing this protected area disturbs wildlife and so is not permitted. The same is true for the old flood embankment; it is no longer a designated route. It is also not possible for visitors to cross the intertidal area south of Welwick, to reach Welwick Saltmarsh; this is not accessible to the public.

    We plan to put some additional signs in place this spring to help visitors navigate around the site and keep to public paths. If you spot somewhere where you think there are gaps in the signage and some extra signs would help indicate the right route to take, please let us know, using the project’s email address (supplied at the end of this newsletter).

    Please make sure you follow all instructions on site and avoid climbing over gates and fences where signs indicate that there is no public access. These restrictions have been put in place to provide safe spaces for wildlife in the new intertidal and wet grassland habitats, where they can nest and breed without being disturbed by humans or dogs. Disturbing birds is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. So, if you see anyone ignoring instructions to stay out of fenced-off areas, please notify the police of a potential wildlife crime by visiting www.humberside.police.uk. or calling 101.


    Connecting Bridleways

    Another finishing touch to the scheme will be to designate a new bridleway through Haverfield, connecting two existing ‘dead-end’ bridleways at each end of the site, one off Sheep Trod Lane and the other from Mulberry Lane. This creates a route which allows horse riders to travel from Skeffling to Patrington Haven without having to use the main road. We have been liaising with ERYC officers to agree the details of this route.

    To avoid a sensitive area of grassland along the southern edge of Haverfield, the route will run beside the drainage ditch at the northern edge; there is already a track here for occasional drain maintenance. Last autumn, we did a survey to ensure the proposed path would not damage existing habitats in that area and then drew up some plans. This will involve some vegetation clearance before bird nesting season this year to connect a path from the entrance off Mulberry Lane to the path along the drain. We are also finalising gate designs at this entrance to Haverfield to discourages motorcycle access but permit horse riders, walkers and cyclists. This is a difficult balance to achieve.
    In December last year, project manager Anthony Kidd (right) met with ERYC's Public Rights of Way Officer Andrew Chudley and senior engineer Rebecca Johnson from WSP to check details of the route for the new bridleway
    Photo of Haverfield from 1989, after quarrying of the sand and gravel there had stopped, supplied by Howard Frost. This is now covered in trees and scrub



    		 You may already know that part of Haverfield is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and was once a stretch of sand dunes and a beach on the edge of the estuary, facing Sunk Island. The sandy, calcium-rich soils found here attract a very different range of wildlife, suited to these conditions. In the last century sand and gravel was quarried here, probably from the 1920’s until the early 1950’s, creating the landscape shown in the photo to the left.

    The southern side of this stretch of land is particularly favourable for butterflies because of the shelter from bushes on the northern side and the wildflowers and grasses beside the track. Howard Frost, member of the Outstrays Recording Group and previously voluntary warden for Haverfield, reports that 19 of the 23 butterfly species recorded across the Outstrays site since about 1985 have been spotted in this relatively small area! It was also here that the only wild orchid ever seen in Haverfield was recorded in 2022.

    For anyone interested in knowing more about the Environment Agency funded archaeological recording of the Second World War gun battery site at Welwick, an article about the work has just been published in ‘Fort; the international journal of fortification and military architecture’. You can read it here: https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/38044/widgets/144486/documents/101247

    As part of The Outstrays scheme, we had to demolish the unsafe Nissen hut, so this was archaeologically recorded beforehand, to produce an archive record of the structure. We also recorded the associated gun-site, which remains in-situ, and can be seen from the new footpath. An interpretation board has been erected on the footpath overlooking the site of the battery.

    Managing The Outstrays

    Whilst we continue to work to find a manager for the site, JBA Bentley’s ecology team will monitor a range of environmental variables on the intertidal and wet grassland areas on our behalf. This will give us a baseline record of changes as these habitats evolve after the breach was created. This information will help us measure how the site is performing as a whole. Once a site manager is in post, we hope to publish annual reports, sharing the results of monitoring activities and data collection from the site.




    Contact Us

    Environment Agency

    For enquiries, you can contact us by email: Welwick.Skeffling@environment-agency.gov.uk. Or by phoning our National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506506 and asking for Anthony Kidd, Project Manager, or Nikky Wilson, Engagement Specialist.


    JBA Bentley

    For enquiries about the work on site, contact Paul Craig, the site manager on 07837 454048. He will continue to take calls during the winter when the site compound at Outstrays is closed.

  • The Outstrays - October 2025 Update

    Celebrating completion of The Outstrays!

    In September we held two successful events to celebrate completion of the scheme. The first of these was a more formal occasion attended by representatives from organisations like ERYC and the IDB along with the local MP, Graham Stuart. It started in Welwick Parish Hall with speeches made by Alan Lovell, the Chair of the Environment Agency and Associated British Port’s Regional Director, Andrew Dawes.

    Guests and staff then progressed to one of the bird hides on the embankment, near to the Weeton car park, where one of the new interpretation panels was unveiled. The day ended with a visit for a small number of guests to Skeffling pumping station to meet staff working there and see firsthand the progress that is being made on this project. Scenes from the gathering at the bird hide featured on ITV’s Calendar news that night with further coverage in the Yorkshire Post and the Holderness Gazette. Refreshments for the occasion were provided by the wonderful Cakey Bakey Yum Yum.


    		 ABP's Andrew Dawes and Alan Lovell, EA Chair, scissors in hand, ready to unveil the new interpretation panel beside the Weeton bird hide on the embankment. Photo courtesy of JBA Bentley

    On the following day we held a drop-in style event for local residents and other stakeholders, inviting them to join us for a cup of tea or coffee whilst watching drone footage of the scheme, talking to project staff and then visiting the bird hide. This gave guests the chance to hear in more detail what building the scheme entailed and an opportunity to visit the site, with specialist staff on hand to answer questions and describe some of the achievements. The mood at both events was cheerful and even the weather obliged by staying dry until the end of each day, with spectacular skies seen from the embankment.

    Guests walking to the bird hide with a stormy sky in the background

    		 A view across intertidal habitat on The Outstrays that afternoon at low tide

    Achievements from the scheme include:

    • Over 250 hectares of compensatory habitat has been created on the site, comprising 175 hectares of intertidal saltmarsh and mudflats and 75 hectares of wet grassland.
    • A new state-of-the-art flood embankment built, 5.5 kilometres in length and 5.6 metres AOD. This reduces the risk of flooding of homes and agricultural land in the local area and has enabled flood risk management work to happen in other parts of the estuary.
    • 4.1 kilometres of new drains installed on the dry side of the new embankment, facilitating better drainage of the land.
    • Over two and a half million tonnes of earth was moved to create the scheme and used to build the embankment. This meant that we did not have to import materials to the site; 23,000 tonnes of carbon were saved by not using the traditional ‘rock armour’ and by building a wave bund with site-won material instead.
    • The new path on top of the embankment is now a designated bridleway, designed to Access for All standards, with sections of Flexipave surfacing used on the ramps leading to and from the top of the embankment.
    • Four new bird hides have been built to overlook the intertidal areas near Skeffling, Weeton and Welwick and the wet grassland habitat at Outstray Farm.
    • One new car park installed, close to Weeton, and the other to be built once Skeffling pumping station is completed, in the works compound there.
    • A total of 11,600 trees and hedgerow seedlings planted around the edges of the site to provide shelter and corridors for wildlife to pass through. This is substantially more than the original replacement target of 4,200, to replace 840 at a five to one ratio.
    • Once completed, the two new pumping stations at Skeffling and Outstrays will increase pumping capacity significantly and meet standards to protect eels.


    From OtSMRS to 'The Outstrays'

    We have have now officially adopted the name ‘The Outstrays’ for the OtSMRS site. This was proposed by the Outstrays Recording Group, in response to our request for suggestions of a shorter name. They researched local place names and came up with this particular one, pointing out that ‘outstray’ (singular) is known locally and is possibly unique to this area. ‘Strays’ is a local name for saltmarshes which build out from a natural coastline and an

    ‘outstray’ is a saltmarsh formed by sediment accretion beyond a protective bank. This name seemed well suited to the site and is much shorter and easier to use.


    Welcome Anthony, The Outstrays' new project manager

    Some of you may have noticed, if you have been in touch with the Environment Agency’s project manager, that Anthony Kidd took over this role from Marie-Claire Spicer in the spring. Anthony is no stranger to the scheme as he has been the project manager for both Skeffling and Winestead Outstrays pumping stations since March 2023. So he is already familiar with the area and his work on the pumping stations has given him a good overview of the scheme. This will be very helpful as the project heads towards completion.


    Aerial view of the Skeffling bird hide and embankment at low tide, April 2025
    Anthony Kidd, Environment Agency's project manager

    Update on the main Outstrays scheme

    A lot has happened on the Outstrays site during this year’s construction season! Our contractors have made good progress with finishing the main part of the scheme, aided by the dry weather in the spring and summer. The widening of the breach in the old embankment, was started in early 2024 and was finished in May this year. We will continue to monitor how well it functions during the winter.

    Over the winter months the compound at Outstrays will be closed until next spring but the one at Skeffling will remain open until the end of this year. JBA Bentley staff will also be on site regularly to deal with any defects and will be replacing dead tree and hedgerow seedlings over the winter months.


    Skeffling Pumping Station update

    After the usual winter break, work on Skeffling pumping station restarted in March. We are pleased to report that this construction season has progressed well, with completion likely at the end of the year. During the spring and summer months JBA Bentley’s site team have worked hard to complete the pumping station structure and foundations. These will support three new pumps designed to lift and discharge water from Soak Dyke into the new intertidal habitat. A new frame for the weed screen cleaner was put in place at the end of August and eel-friendly Archimedes screw pumps installed at the beginning of September. These were followed by the kiosks that contain the electrical equipment to operate the pumps.

    During October and November staff will install mains power and then carry out tests to ensure the pumps work properly. This involves checking the speed at which the pump blades rotate and setting water levels on the inlets to each pump which will activate them remotely.

    Skeffling pumping station in September this year, seen from the intertidal habitat, showing the stretch of protective asphalt area, and with low flow channels to protect eels from injury

    Our intention is that the pumping station should be fully operational by the end of December this year. Once this happens, we will connect the bridleway on top of the new embankment to the existing path from Kilnsea, just in time for Christmas. We can then remove the current diversion of the King Charles III England Coast Path along Long Lane so that there is a continuous path along the embankment at that end of the scheme.

    Work will pause in January and February 2026 and our contractors will return in March to demolish the existing pumping station. Once this is done, the site compound will be removed and a new car park put in place later that year, completing all the access improvements at that end of the scheme.


    Winestead Pumping Station

    Work at Winestead pumping station has also progressed well. Over the spring and summer months JBA Bentley staff have built a raised platform for the pumping station and most of the infrastructure to support the pumps. They also began excavating the discharge channel leading into Winestead Drain. To meet environmental requirements for this site, work will stop at the end of the month and re-start in March 2026. A further season of construction will hopefully see the pumps installed and all work around them completed by the end of 2026. In 2027 the final task will be to demolish the existing Outstrays pumping station.

    One advantage of JBA Bentley staff working on both pumping stations simultaneously has been that engineering challenges and lessons learnt at Skeffling pumping station can then be applied to the Outstrays one. This has improved the efficiency and speed of delivery as well as minimising the technical challenges that have been faced.


    Changes to Winestead Drain

    You might have noticed that the new pumping station on Winestead Drain has been moved further inland from the old location. This will ensure it is more resilient to extreme weather and climate change. One impact of this has been the loss of an area of freshwater habitat on the drain beside the new pumping station. To comply with the water environment regulations, we have replaced the habitat lost by widening Winestead Drain upstream of the pumping station. Next year we will install a series of fishing pegs along the drain, to improve access for anglers; more details will be included in the next newsletter. In the meantime we are asking everyone to stay away from this site to give the recently sown grass seed a chance to establish over the winter. We have recently had reports of some visitors digging out their own fishing pegs in the excavated area along Winestead Drain. This is illegal, damages the grass cover and could affect stability and performance of the embankment. This embankment provides an important flood mitigation measure, and the grass cover is an integral part of it, reducing the likelihood of scour and breaches.

    Widening of Winestead Drain


    Access on The Outstrays: Paths and Bridleways

    Now that work on the main embankment is completed, walkers, cyclists and horse riders can travel from Skeffling to Outstrays Farm following the route marked on the map (found on the back page of this newsletter). However, we ask everyone to stick to this route and not to venture into fenced off areas, such as the intertidal habitat or the wet grassland at Outstrays. Dogs also need to be kept out of these areas to avoid disturbing wildlife. Visitors should not climb over gates and fences where signs indicate that there is no public access. We appreciate this limits access but this is necessary to ensure the site delivers the legal requirements it was funded to provide. Further costs could impact on our delivery of other flood improvement measures, including the local pumping stations. We have received reports of people not following the marked route and entering the intertidal or wet grassland areas. If you notice this, please can you email Welwick.Skeffling@environment-agency.gov.uk to report it. It helps us to monitor the site and build up a record of where and when this is happening. It could also help us identify if there is a need for more signage on site.

    Over the winter the track from the car park at Outstrays leading to Winestead pumping station will remain open. However, we anticipate that next year we’ll need to close this temporarily when work starts to excavate the inlet and outlet channels for the new pumping station. We still need to work out how and when this will be done but, given the space constraints beside the drain, it’s unlikely that we will be able to find a diversionary route. We know that many people enjoy walking along this track and will update you on our plans for this.

    Finally, motorbikes have recently been spotted racing at speed along the embankment track. If you see this happening live when you are on site, please phone the 999 emergency number for the police; use of this number is justified as this behaviour is considered to pose a risk to the public. If you can collect information such as number plates and make of the bikes, please pass this on too. If you encounter evidence of motorbikes after they have been on site, you can report it on the 101 number or online via Home | Humberside Police. You should quote the most recent incident report number: VCN-7153-25-1616-IR.


    Finding a site manager for The Outstrays

    We continue to make preparations to find an appropriate organisation to manage The Outstrays, working closely with Associated British Ports to find a way to do this as a single contract which will cover both ABP and Environment Agency-owned land. This process is taking longer than expected due to changes last year in government procurement rules.

    However, we are hopeful that we’ll make good progress with this in 2026. In the meantime,

    JBA Bentley’s ecology team will continue to monitor a range of environmental variables on the site. This will give us a baseline record of changes as the intertidal area and wet grassland habitat evolves. This will be complemented by records of wildlife sightings supplied by The Outstrays Recording Group whose volunteers visit the site weekly to record species of birds, animals and insects on the site.

    Once a site manager is in post, we hope to publish annual reports, sharing the results of monitoring activities and data collection from the site.


    New interpretation panels for the site

    It has taken a long time but we have finally made progress with designing and installing interpretation panels for the site. The first ones were put in place in early September. The remainder will be installed before the end of this year. They include ‘welcome’ panels at the main entry points to The Outstrays, each with a map of the site, ‘habitat’ panels for the four bird hides and Haverfield showing what wildlife you might see at each location, and ‘heritage’ panels for the Roman/medieval site and the World War Two battery. Local artist Larry Malkin contributed a piece of artwork to one of the heritage panels, illustrating what the ruins of Burstall Garth might have looked like. Along with the lost village of Pensthorpe, this is now somewhere out in the estuary, illustrating how the Humber coastline is constantly changing.


    Larry Malkin's drawing of Burstall Garth, inspired by the 1721 sketch by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck. The building was on the site of the Burstall Priory

    A new home for scheme updates

    Although we no longer have a website dedicated to the project, you can find updates about our work here on the Humber2100+ Engagement HQ site. For those of you who receive the project newsletter by email, we currently send this as a PDF attachment to an email. In future we will send an email containing a link to the latest updates, taking you directly to the new project space mentioned above. This offers us the ability to provide a project update in a format that adapts to the device or platform on which you view it, improving accessibility for everyone. Anyone who requested a postal newsletter will continue to receive it in this format.


    An evolving site

    In June this year the grassland in West Two became a field of daisies, as the photo opposite shows. This was because nesting birds in that part of the site prevented our contractors from cutting the grass earlier in the year. This created an amazing sight of a huge expanse of wild daisies.


    Survey of stakeholder views

    A few months ago we secured some funding to research the views of stakeholders, especially local residents, with the intention of learning lessons from our engagement work on the managed realignment scheme. We have now received the draft report from this research and will use the findings to inform future Environment Agency projects, especially ones in coastal locations where a changing climate is affecting communities. We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to fill in the online survey or be interviewed; your contribution is greatly appreciated.
    West 2 daisies

    Ask us a question for our FAQs

    We have gathered a number of questions about the scheme from our celebratory events last month and also from visitors who have spoken with our contractors as construction progressed. We will include these in a Frequently Asked Questions section in the next newsletter. So if you have a question you want to ask, please email us before the end of November to have it included in the FAQs.


    Contact Us

    Environment Agency

    For enquiries, you can contact us by email: Welwick.Skeffling@environment- agency.gov.uk. Or by phoning our National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506506 and asking for Anthony Kidd, Project Manager, or Nikky Wilson, Engagement Specialist.


    JBA Bentley

    For enquiries about the work on site, contact Paul Craig, the site manager on 07837 454048.

    He will continue to take calls during the winter when the site compound at Outstrays is closed.

  • Outstrays to Skeffling Managed Realignment (OtSMRS) - Widening the breach

    The site continues to attract visitors, and formal opening events are being planned for later in the year, by which time the interpretation and welcome boards are planned to be in place.

    Following the expected breach erosion over the winter, work began in April on additional work to widen the breach area to enable the tidal water to leave the site more quickly between tides. This has made a significant improvement to the reduction of water on the site. This can be seen in the pictures below taken on 14th May, we will continue to monitor progress.

    Skeffling and Winestead pumping station works are both continuing to progress well with the recent good weather we have had. Skeffling pumping station is expected to be complete by the end of this winter.

    08:04 showing higher water levels
    17:55 showing reduced water levels

  • Outstrays to Skeffling Managed Realignment (OtSMRS) - Pumping station and breach works resume

    OtSMRS continues to attract visitors. Over the winter, there were many different varieties of birds, a diverse range of other species and visitors particularly have enjoyed the new bridleway and bird hides. Work paused during the winter to protect the over-wintering birds, but the site team have begun to remobilise enabling work to resume.

    In early January, a small material slip occurred resulting in some emergency work to improve and minimise the likelihood of it reoccurring. Around the same time, the Skeffling pumping station compound was flooded due to a power cut to the existing pumping station. However, there was no significant damage.

    Further erosion of the breach occurred over the winter months. However, the breach still requires further expansion to better accommodate the flow of water out from the site. The MMO (Marine Management Organisation) licence has been approved and the HRA (Habitats Regulations Appraisal) has been updated to reflect this work. The works are due to be carried out in late spring/early summer when the site is likely to be drier and will better support plant movement.

    The Skeffling pumping station works have resumed and should be complete by the winter. Work on Winestead pumping station (a separate Environment Agency project, being delivered under this contract with consultants for efficiency) will begin in earnest this year.

    Click here to find out more about the Outstrays to Skeffling Managed Realignment site