The Environment Agency is consulting on the approaches being considered to manage the risk of flooding across the Thames Valley.

A public consultation is now open and runs from 26 May 2021 until 20 August 2021.

The Environment Agency is keen to gather your views and opinions. This is an opportunity to get involved and help shape the future of managing flood risk across the Thames Valley - find out how to take part in the consultation.

As well as sharing initial investigative work on different ways of managing flood risk, the consultation will also provide details on the scope of the strategic environmental assessment, which shows how social, economic and environmental factors guide our decisions.

Joe Cuthbertson, Project Director, said:

As well as investigating a range of approaches for flood reduction measures, the scheme is committed to ambitious improvements to the environment, habitat and biodiversity.

To really make this scheme work for the Thames Valley we also need to understand what is important to communities and local businesses. I would urge all those who live, work and visit the Thames Valley to get involved in the consultation.

The Thames Valley flood scheme will investigate managing the risk of flooding, for those who live and work in the area, as well as recognising the increasing impacts of climate change and supporting communities where it has not been possible to provide a local scheme.

The approaches being investigated include:

• large scale floodwater storage in a range of locations
• natural flood risk management measures such as creating wetlands, improving soil, crop management and planting trees to help retain or slow water
• engineered flood risk management solutions including flood alleviation channels.

Over the years the Environment Agency and its partners have invested heavily in developing new flood schemes to support those most at risk across the Thames Valley. It recently met its national 6 year target to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding. These efforts have made lives and livelihoods better for millions of people, but there are still many communities that remain vulnerable to the impacts of flooding.

Further information

Further information on the scheme is available on the Thames Valley flood scheme web page.

You can contact the project via email TVFS@environment_agency.gov.uk.

The Environment Agency, along with partners, has put major efforts and funding into developing and implementing new flood alleviation schemes throughout the Thames Valley.

These schemes reduce the risk of flooding for many of those living, working and visiting the area. However, there are locations where it has not been possible to develop a local flood scheme, including cases where it’s not technically feasible or where it wouldn’t provide sufficient value for money.

Many communities continue to remain at risk of flooding and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

By planning now for the future, the Thames Valley flood scheme is adopting a catchment wide approach to mitigate the increasing flood risk that climate change will bring.

The scheme will complement existing and planned local flood alleviation schemes. It aims to provide an increased level of climate resilience across the Thames Valley and significantly reduce flood risk over a very large geographical area.

The catchment for the scheme covers the entire length of the River Thames upstream of London to its source in Gloucestershire, and all the rivers that flow into it.

The vision is to develop a scheme that:

• reduces flood risk throughout the Thames Valley
• enhances the environment
• grows the economy
• supports sustainable growth
• improves health and wellbeing for rural and urban communities