Aire and Calder Navigation bank repairs, Yorkshire, UK

NEC has been used to repair wash walls on an important waterborne freight route in Yorkshire, UK. Canal and River Trust, the charity that looks after the Aire and Calder Navigation, used its framework contractor JN Bentley to undertake the repairs as part of a £1.7 million NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option D (target contract with bill of quantities) in August 2024. The work was completed on schedule and under budget in January 2025.            

Opened in 1704, the 55 km long, 3 m deep Aire & Calder Navigation links Leeds to the North Sea via Goole and provides passage for boats up to 60 m long carrying cargoes of oil, sand and gravel. An embankment collapse in 2020 led to a breach which lowered water levels, causing several sections of the sheet-pile wash walls to fail near Southfield Reservoir, just west of Goole.

The project was shortlisted for the Upgrade and Renewal Project Award in the 2025 British Construction Industry Awards.

Experienced NEC user

Founded in 2012, the Canal and River Trust is the UK's largest canal charity, caring for a 3,200 km of canals and navigable rivers in England and Wales. Many of its waterways and associated embankments, culverts, reservoirs, bridges, locks and towpaths are up to 250 years old and need constant upkeep and investment.

The Trust is an experienced NEC user, having put the contract suite at the heart of its civil engineering frameworks from the outset. Major recent projects include the NEC3-procured emergency lock reconstruction on the Calder and Hebble Navigation.

The Trust’s current civil engineering framework, worth around £800 million, runs for 10 years from April 2022 and is based on NEC4 ECC Option D. JN Bentley won three of the framework’s eight lots, covering £400 million of complex and non-complex works in the North West, Yorkshire and North East.

Safe and efficient delivery

Dan Timbers, senior project manager at the Trust, says the Aire and Calder Navigation repair project was delivered safely and efficiently within the agreed budget. ‘In line with the NEC requirement on the parties to act in a “spirit of mutual trust and co-operation”, all members of the project team – including the client, contractor and subcontractors – worked well together, with excellent collaboration and problem solving when required.’

He says the piling subcontractor was particularly proactive when issues occurred, offering solutions and excellent communication with the site agent and client. ‘Constructive progress meetings were held fortnightly throughout the works, and NEC early warning and subsequent compensation events were dealt with efficiently. This meant that any issues were quickly and fairly dealt with, resulting in minimal impact on price and programme’.

Timbers says the Thinkproject contract management system (formerly CEMAR) was used to administer the contract, including making payments and forecasting. ‘This helped to ensure that the NEC benefit of full transparency of costs and programme was achieved throughout the works. In the end the project was delivered on schedule and below the target cost, meaning the contractor received a gain share.’

Benefits of using NEC

• NEC requirement on the parties to act in a ‘spirit of mutual trust and co-operation’ ensured all members of the project team worked well together, with excellent collaboration and problem solving when required.
• NEC early warnings and compensations events ensured that any issues were quickly and fairly dealt with, resulting in minimal impact on price and programme.
• NEC ECC Option D provided full transparency of cost and programme throughout the works.
• The project was completed on schedule and below the target cost, so the contractor benefited from the NEC pain/gain share mechanism.