‘Abandoned’ in flood-risk areas
Datchet: Council and EA criticised for a lack of action
People living in Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury have been ‘abandoned’ on the major issue of flooding, according to a Royal Borough councillor.
Wraysbury experienced its most severe bout of flooding since 2014 last month, which resulted in property flooding and the village green being submerged.
Wraysbury Cricket Club estimates the cost of repairing the village’s cricket pitch before the start of the season could cost more than £20,000.
In the aftermath of the flooding, independent councillor Ewan Larcombe has criticised both the council and the Environment Agency for a lack of action protecting the village.
He said: “My people here in Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury have been abandoned and have flooded four times since the Jubilee flood channel was opened (2002).
“Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury are a remote and abandoned outpost of the borough and the borough do not care.”
The 73-year-old remains strongly critical of the council’s decision, under the previous Conservative administration, to pull out of the River Thames Scheme.
The project will see the construction of a flood channel alongside the River Thames but work will not take place in Datchet and Wraysbury after the borough failed to stump up a £53million contribution towards the project.
Cllr Larcombe also criticised a lack of action from the council in tackling blockages in Wraysbury Drain as well as a lack of dredging by the Environment Agency.
Dredging involves the removal of silt material from the bottom of rivers to temporarily increase the flow of water.
Richard Coe, cabinet member for environmental services at the Royal Borough, said January’s flooding had been ‘very distressing’ for all those impacted and the council is doing everything it can to tackle flood risk in the communities.
He said: “Flooding is a national issue, as we’ve seen with the widespread flooding this winter, and I am disappointed national government refuse to accept responsibility for fully funding these projects and instead have off-loaded funding parts of these large nationally significant schemes onto local communities.
“The Royal Borough and the Environment Agency are continuing to progress work with the objective of identifying and then implementing a technically and economically viable, affordable, and sustainable option to reduce flood risk in Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor.”
The Environment Agency is currently working on a shortlist for potential longterm measures to protect Wraysbury and Datchet from flooding, Cllr Coe added.
The council said it has recently removed silt from Datchet Barrel Arch to reduce flood risk in Datchet and exploratory works are planned at Wraysbury Drain to identify any blockage issues.
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Dredging the River Thames would not significantly reduce flood risk.
“In many cases, dredging can be costly, disruptive and environmentally damaging and would require frequent re-dredging as the natural tendency of all rivers after dredging is to deposit silt and return to their original state.”