- The multi-million pound, eight-year partnership with the Canal and River Trust will see the global consultancy provide sustainable project solutions across their capital programme.
- The Trust manages more than 2,000 miles of historic canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs in England and Wales, as well as thousands of historic buildings and sites.
- The framework award builds on 13 years of services provided by Arcadis to the Trust, managing complex assets such as reservoirs, embankments, culverts and tunnels and unique historic assets like the Anderton Boat Lift.
- Award aligns with Arcadis’s new three-year strategy, Accelerating a Planet Positive Future, by delivering sustainable projects for a key client.
20th February 2024: Global consultancy Arcadis has been awarded a large multi-million pound contract to manage and protect more than 2,000 miles of historic canals, rivers, docks and reservoirs in England and Wales.
The eight-year contract with the Canal and River Trust (the Trust), which Arcadis has provided vital services and award-winning designs to since 2011, will include multi-disciplinary projects from bridge safety and channel engineering to ecology and contract management support. It also gives an opportunity to work with water management specialists Binnies, who will complement our services by providing specialist reservoir support.
More than 150 Arcadis specialists, primarily across the UK but also working with colleagues in the Netherlands and Asia, will work with the Trust, which is a charitable trust and the third largest owner of heritage assets in the UK behind the Church of England and the National Trust.
The framework agreements are aligned to the new three-year strategy Arcadis launched in November last year; prioritising key clients and delivering sustainable project solutions which improve quality of life.
One of the first priorities will be working with the Trust to support and establish processes to ensure that its commitment to net zero is incorporated into delivery by the supply chain partners.
As well as managing canals in England and Wales, the Trust has a portfolio that includes more than 2,500 listed buildings, nine historic battlefields and five UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many of the Trust’s assets are up to 200 years old, meaning the safety and maintenance Arcadis is contracted to carry out are of critical importance.
The primary purpose of the framework will be for Arcadis to provide site investigation, exploratory works, project appraisal, detailed design, project management, asset management and functional business support across a range of the Trust’s programmes.
Building from our project to bring digital solution to boat licensing as part of the framework, Arcadis will work with the Trust to explore how digital products can improve asset performance and drive efficiency in delivery.
Previous Trust projects that Arcadis has worked on include maintaining and managing the Anderton Boat Lift, a giant three-storey-high iron edifice in Cheshire and one of only two boat lifts in the UK, which lifts boats and barges 50ft from the River Weaver Navigation to the Trent & Mersey Canal. Arcadis has also supporting the Trust to design a set of replacement lock gate sat the West India dock – the historic gateway to London, transporting goods from the Caribbean.
Matt Bennett, Arcadis Water Management Business Director, said: “This is a tremendous win for Arcadis and strengthens our collaborative partnership with Binnies and our wider supply chain partners.
"It builds on our established relationship with the Trust and has tested our thinking to ensure that we bring a refreshed offer to the client, to meet the challenges of today and of the future. In particular we are focusing on how we address sustainability across this unique portfolio and drive innovations to meet the portfolio constraints.
"The alignment of the organisations has also been key and one where values has been at the heart of the approach. As an established waterway and wellbeing charity to help improve the health and wellbeing of the nation, this immediately aligns with our strategic objectives and is critical to improving quality of life for people living in England and Wales.”
