The River Thames between Egham and Teddington is one of the largest un-defended flood plains in Surrey and has historically suffered serious flooding. With climate change making this risk worse the River Thames Scheme was created to reduce flood risk to communities through Surrey and South West London.
With funding approved last year, detailed design work is currently underway. The scheme, which involves creating two new river channels alongside the Thames in Runnymede and Spelthorne, as well as improving existing structures like weirs, will increase the capacity of the Thames through Surrey and south west London, reducing the risk of flooding. In Elmbridge improvements will be made to Sunbury and Molesey weirs.
Alongside the channels there will be large areas of green space, new foot and cycle paths, and improved wildlife habitats. The flood channels will also provide opportunities for fishing, boating and canoeing bringing health benefits to communities as well as opportunities for tourism, recreation and leisure.
We are planning to make our proposals public later this year and your feedback will be important to us and will help determine our final plans which will go through a thorough and robust consultation and planning process. Please visit the River Thames Scheme website for more information.