Surrey must ‘come on board’

Slough: Councils urged to unite to fund flood plans

The Royal Borough has been urged to bring Surrey County Council on board to help fund flood alleviation measures due to fears that the authority would not be able to afford them alone.

At a virtual meeting of the flood liaison group on Tuesday evening, Old Windsor parish councillor Malcolm Beer said the authority was wasting its time unless Surrey came on board to help fund the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures project.

Group chair Cllr David Buckley (TBFI, Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury) said he was ‘very conscious’ of the funding issue and while there is no ‘magic pot’, the authority does have plans.

The scheme is run in partnership by the Environment Agency and Windsor and Maidenhead council.

It was created after the wider River Thames Scheme went ahead without the Royal Borough due to the authority not raising the necessary funds.

At the meeting, Cllr Beer said part of the scheme would also benefit Surrey County Council.

He said: “My parents lived at Hythe End, that flooded several times every winter and I was very much aware of the problems in Wraysbury.

“But unless Surrey are involved – and they get flooded very badly – we will not have the financial resources to move forward.

“They have got to be included in the partnership, because they will get a considerable benefit from the Datchet to Hythe End Scheme.”

He added: “It needs to be addressed. Surrey County Council must be brought on board because Windsor and Maidenhead will not be able to afford the Datchet to Hythe End scheme on its own.

“We’re wasting our time unless Surrey comes on board.”

Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Richard Coe updated councillors on funding available for flood defences. He said the £10million promised by the previous Conservative administration ‘doesn’t exist as a pot of money’ and is a commitment.

Cllr Buckley said Cllr Beer’s point on funding is ‘critical’ and he is ‘very conscious’ of the funding issue.

“It’s something we’re working on specifically,” he said.

“[We are] fully aware of it. We don’t have the answers, we don’t have a magic pot sitting here, but we do have the plans and a number of them, which we feel fairly confident can come forward.

“But the Surrey point is a very good point.”