Work is progressing at pace on Derby Riverside, as the derby’s latest package of flood defences begin to take shape.

These transformative works have dramatically changed the landscape of this area, with buildings removed, and a large channel dug along the route to house the piling for the new flood walls.

Delivering quality defences through innovative methods

Derby Riverside is divided into eight ‘reaches’, which are progressing concurrently. At five of these reaches, piling has now been completed, clearing the way for the new flood walls to take shape.

At reach 6, near the Smithfield Pub, the proposed flood wall has been realigned to keep the pub on the dry side of the defences. This unique layout, requires a bespoke approach to install the piles with minimal disruption, while maintaining access for the business.

To achieve this, a specialist piling rig has been assembled on site, combining a large crane with an innovative Japanese piling machine that uses the gyropress method. Rather than driving piles into the ground with impact, this machine screws them into place, significantly reducing vibration and noise. Once a pile is installed, the machine moves along it to install the next. An animation of this process can be found on the Giken website.

Lasting community benefits

The main outcome of Derby Riverside will be a modern, resilient network of flood defence infrastructure. However, the partnership between Derby City Council and John Sisk and Son is also delivering lasting community benefits.

In March, Sisk’s Open-Door Week, in partnership with Build UK, gave people the chance to visit the site and get an insight into construction, offering work experience opportunities with the potential of full-time employment.

Since beginning work in the city, 36 local people have been employed full time on the project, on top of five work placements and two apprentices. This has been driven by construction careers advice events carried out at Derby Job Centre and Landau Forte College.

A strong partnership has been formed with Laundau Forte, with the project being on their doorstep. Support from Sisk has formed a key part of the college’s A-Level design programme, where students have been able to explore concepts linked to flood resilience, public realm design and sustainable construction.

Creating a greener river corridor

The project is also contributing to the city’s green infrastructure. This planting season, 270 trees have already been planted at sites along the river corridor, including Nottingham Road, Cathedral Green and City Road. Further planting is planned over the coming weeks, to take the total for this phase to over 300 and helping improve biodiversity and the overall appearance of the area.

These trees add to the more than 500 that have already been planted as part of OCOR, which aims to plant over 2000 trees over the course of the project. This far exceeds the estimated 574 that will have been removed by the completion of Derby Riverside.

Councillor Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability, said:

The transformation at Derby Riverside already is truly remarkable. From a quick walk near the site, you can see the scale of what we’re achieving, and the challenges we’re overcoming in the process.

These defences aren’t just for the here and now, they to help safeguard our city’s future. It’s apt that through our partnership with Sisk, we’re sowing the seeds for the next generation of engineers.

These new defences will be a gamechanger when we’re faced with high water levels, and I’m delighted with how things are progressing. This would not be possible without the close collaboration with our partners.

Lee Long, Project Director, Sisk, said:

We have now completed around 70% of the total piling work required on the project, truly remarkable given that we commenced piling in January. The team is extremely proud of the ongoing installation at Reach 6, with significant technical challenges being overcome to allow the works to proceed as planned.  Being able to make changes to the design to allow the Smithfield’s Beer Garden to stay open throughout our works really was the cherry on top of the cake.

Elsewhere on the project, we are beginning our first FRC (reinforced concrete wall) installs adjacent to Exeter House and pushing the install of DHA’s new car park and access road.

We are poised to make the next three months our busiest yet and leverage the summer weather, whilst continuing to work with local businesses to minimise any disruption.

Derby Riverside will complete the second phase of the Our City, Our River project, a major flood risk mitigation and regeneration project, delivered by Derby City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency.

Since May 2025, contractors John Sisk and Son have been working on Derby Riverside, a crucial part of the scheme to bolster defences on the left bank of the Derwent.

The Our City, Our River programme has already delivered enhanced flood protection to over 2000 properties. Once complete, Derby Riverside will extend this protection to the left bank of the Derwent and unlock the potential for regeneration in this part of the city.