A weed boat has scooped invasive water-soldier out of Beverley Beck in a pilot clearance paid for partly by rod licence money. What happens next, and who is involved.

A specialist weed boat has been pulling an invasive plant called water-soldier out of Beverley Beck. The work is a pilot, and the council says it is now looking for a longer-term way to keep the plant under control.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council announced the clearance on Monday 12 October. Its release gives Friday 9 October as the day the pilot works concluded.

What water-soldier is and why it matters on the Beck

Water-soldier looks like the top of a pineapple. Through the colder months it sits submerged on the bottom. In summer the plants float up, with their leaves poking above the surface.

The council says the plant is not native to East Yorkshire and has spread in the Beck since 2020. Like other problem water plants, it spreads quickly. The council says its dense growth can cause trouble for:

  • boating
  • angling
  • waterfowl
  • other wildlife in and around the water

Who is doing the work

The council commissioned the Rothen Group to clear the plants. It did so with two partners on the Beck:

  • Beverley Canal Fishery, which leases the fishing along the Beck
  • the Beverley Historic Barge Society

The Environment Agency also gave grant funding. Daniel Jagucki, a projects officer at the Agency, said the money came from its Fisheries Improvement Programme, which is paid for by the sale of rod licences.

“Hopefully, the many anglers that fish the Beck, and other users, will benefit from the clearance work,” he said.

How the clearance works

The boat carries a forked basket on its bow. It scoops the plants out of the water and drops them on the bank. From there they are taken away to be composted, the council said.

Councillor Paul West, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “We’re dedicated to supporting healthy local ecosystems, and this will play a key role in safeguarding Beverley Beck for wildlife and the local community.”

What happens next

The pilot is not the end of it. The council says it and its partners will now look for the control methods best suited to Beverley Beck. The aim, in the council’s words, is to make sure the problem “is contained, and does not become an endemic issue.”

The release does not give a timetable or a cost for that next stage. We will report it when the council publishes one.

What it means for you

  • Anglers: the clearance was part-funded from rod licence sales, and the Environment Agency says it should make the Beck easier to fish.
  • Boat users: the council names boating as one of the uses the plant’s dense growth disrupts. The pilot has removed plants, but the council has not said the plant is gone for good, and its next step is still to choose a long-term control method.
  • Everyone else on the bank: the plant sits on the bottom through winter and rises in summer, so next summer is when any regrowth would show at the surface.

For other work affecting getting around Beverley, see our East Riding roadworks and travel page.