River Thames Flood Risk
Tuesday 11th October 2011
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
INCREASE RISKS OF FLOODING ON RIVER THAMES AND TRIBUTARY RIVERS BY
DOWNGRADING FLOOD DEFENCES BY WITHDRAWL OF NINE RESIDENT LOCK
KEEPERS
Taking away resident
lock keepers from nine locks means being unable to provide adequate
response to three adjacent locks upstream of Reading which could
mean that the levels of rainfall seen in 2003 and 2007 would
devastate Reading and surrounding villages in Oxfordshire says GMB
lock keepers
On Friday
7th October the Environment Agency decided to
freeze the positions of up to nine resident lock and weir keepers
on the River Thames and rent the properties they live in to
residents not connected with the river. With effect from Monday
10th October the Environment Agency are actively looking to let
these properties.
Lock keepers have warned
that this increases the risk of flooding on the River Thames and
its tributaries which constitute the most managed waterway in the
UK. It goes against the conclusion of a 2008 review that resident
lock keepers were essential for flood defenses on the River Thames
waterway.
Lock keepers houses at seven
of the locks in question are currently vacant, or will be
vacant within the next few months. The houses are at Grafton,
Cleve, Goring ( See picture on GMB website)
and Whitchurch in Oxfordshire, Blakes Lock
in Berkshire and Chertsey and Sunbury in
Surrey. The other two lock houses will become vacant
when the present lock keepers retire. Lock staff have been
pressing management to fill the vacancies for resident lock keepers
at Chertsey and Sunbury for some time but to no avail.
In 2008 GMB lock staff
overturned a then decision by Environment Agency to rent out the
riverside lock keeper properties. Then they were backed by
local MP’s David Cameron and Theresa May. In December 2008,
the Environment Agency Director, Howard Davidson, gave
assurances to MPs, river users and those living on the flood
plain that keeping a resident Lock Keeper at each of the 45 sites
along the River Thames was the most sensible way forward to manage
the river as safely and efficiently as possible. After a full
review had been carried out he told MPs that the key considerations
to his decisions were mitigating against the risk of flood
and response times to out of hours incidents.
Clive Smith GMB organizer
for the lock keepers said “This further reckless attempt by
the Environment Agency to lower flood defenses and risk flooding
from the Thames has angered residents living near the river, Thames
user groups and boat owners. The decision ignores the conclusions
from the full review carried out in 2008 when the Agency told MPs
that the key considerations on residential locks were mitigating
against the risk of flood and response times to out of hours
incidents.
At present resident
lock keepers respond to incidents at lock sites within 15
minutes. With no one on site at nine locks this level of response
would be impossible and the public will see the response change to
the Agency's guideline of 2 hours. At times of flooding it could
take staff a lot longer than that if roads are flooded. Thus the
decision to take away resident lock keepers from these nine locks
means that the Environment Agency may not be able to provide
adequate response to three adjacent locks upstream of Reading. This
means that there is a high likelihood of flooding of land
and property even during periods of moderate rainfall. The
levels of rainfall seen in 2003 and 2007 would devastate the
Berkshire town of Reading and surrounding villages within
Oxfordshire.
Since 2008 the
Agency has actively sought to reduce its property portfolio
by selling or renting out most of the Area Relief Lock Houses.
These were based all along the river from Oxfordshire through
Berkshire and into Surrey. They were located near the
locks for operational reasons so staff could respond to
incidents within a matter of minutes.
Lock staff numbers
have been hugely reduced over the last few years. This places a
strain on the current workforce, therefore, not enabling the
Environment Agency to fulfill its customer charter. Most of
the sites are very remote. It is imperative that lock staff are
retained as an operational resident for the safety of
river users and properties. History shows that over the years many
lives have been saved by having a lock-keeper on site.
GMB, the union
for lock staff on the Thames, has asked on several occasions
for a detailed breakdown of the savings that the Agency claim
they will make. To date this information has not been
forthcoming.
There have been no
negotiations between the Environment Agency and GMB on this matter.
GMB know that once these properties are let a vital link in a flood
defense chain that stretches back 200 years for the safe operation
of the River Thames will be lost. “
End
Contact: Clive Smith GMB
07802 958 554 or 020 8303 3407 or Paul Maloney 07801 343839 or
GMB press office 07974 251 823 or 07921 289880
Note to Editors
Picture of lock keepers house at Goring Oxon
on GMB website with this release