It looks like the River Thames Scheme project is falling ever further behind. I liaised with Claude (Ai) and we agreed the following:
The Original Problem (2003):
The MWEFAS (Jubilee River) experienced “defects in parts of the engineering came to light in January 2003, with the first serious test of the flood relief main purpose of the channel” (Environment Agency – Wikipedia) and “was damaged by flood water when used in January 2003 which resulted in £5m repair costs and a £2.75m out-of-court settlement for sub-standard design and construction” (Environment Agency Annual report and accounts)
The Downstream Impact:
Following the 2003 flooding, “Land and property near the River Thames has suffered from serious flooding for many years. In January 2003, heavy rain brought flooding to many areas of the River Thames downstream of Datchet” (River thames scheme – Currie & Brown), which led to public concern and the development of the LTFRMS.
Timeline Issues:
- The LTFRMS was conceived as early as 2009 (consultation closed December 2009)
- It’s now 2025 – that’s 16 years since the initial consultation
- The current River Thames Scheme (which appears to be the implementation of LTFRMS) still hasn’t submitted its DCO application, despite targeting “mid-2025”
A project that was initiated in response to problems that emerged in 2003, had its first consultation in 2009, and is still not ready to submit planning applications in late 2025 is clearly significantly behind any reasonable schedule.
The fact that it’s taken over two decades to get from problem identification to potentially starting construction (now projected for 2026-2030) suggests substantial delays and complexity issues.
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