{"id":3351,"date":"2026-01-23T12:47:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3351"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:22:11","slug":"rts-project-delay-and-another-18m-for-2026-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3351","title":{"rendered":"RTS – Project delay and another \u00a318m for 2026\/27"},"content":{"rendered":"

The River Thames Scheme has now spent over \u00a3100m on development and is looking for \u00a318m to cover the 2026\/27 financial year.\u00a0 The planned date for submission to the Planning Inspectorate is now 2028.\u00a0 My view is that having designated the project an NSIP, gaining the DCO could be a problem.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

You may wish to know that yesterday (22\/1\/2026 – Thames RFCC virtual meeting) I voted against \u00a318m for the River Thames Scheme Development project.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 The EA has already spent \u00a3100m over 15 years and not produced a coherent plan.\u00a0 \u00a0I also think there is a problem with RTS partnership funding contribution due to Surrey re-organization but could not get a sensible answer.<\/p>\n

\n

This is approximately what I said at the meeting:<\/strong>\u00a0 I was first elected to Datchet Parish Council in mid-1986\u2026\u2026\u2026that\u2019s nearly 40 years ago.\u00a0 I have always lived locally and was first appointed to this Committee in 2019.\u00a0 In my opinion the RTS is our version of HS2 – with ever-increasing costs and extending timescales.\u00a0 Unfortunately RTS Channel One was removed without consultation in July 2020.
\nIn my opinion we have not learned the lessons of MWEFAS and in particular the Jubilee River.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 This is the MWEFAS brochure dated 1991.\u00a0 I represented Datchet at the 1992 Planning Inquiry.
\nThis is the Inspector\u2019s report to the Minister:
\nQuote: ‘It would be very embarrassing to all concerned if the intended discharge capacity of the FRC was not achieved.
\nAnd goes on to say any deficiency in capacity would bring wide-spread \u2013 and justified \u2013 criticism’
\nThe Inspector was spot on but nobody has been held accountable, apologised or rectified the issues.\u00a0 Since the MWEFAS opened in 2002 we have been flooded four times. I see this committee as oversight and scrutiny.\u00a0 Having already spent two decades and over \u00a3100m – I think the RTS project is at risk. My view is firstly that without Channel One the project is incoherent. Secondly I am concerned about the reality of any commitments to partnership funding contributions. Maybe Cllr Heath can help here. I still fail to understand how a project can reach this stage without being fully funded.<\/p>\n

\n

The \u00a318m expenditure was agreed by the majority of the RFCC Members but I think the Members have ‘got the message’ that this project – in particular without Channel One – has problems and is at serious risk.<\/p>\n

\n

RTS = River Thames Scheme<\/p>\n

RFCC = Regional Flood & Coastal Committee<\/p>\n

MWEFAS = Maidenhead, Windsor & Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme<\/p>\n

NSIP = Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project<\/p>\n

DCO = Development Consent Order<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The River Thames Scheme has now spent over \u00a3100m on development and is looking for \u00a318m to cover the 2026\/27 financial year.\u00a0 The planned date for submission to the Planning Inspectorate is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[66,89,98,243],"class_list":["post-3351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-jubilee-river","tag-mwefas","tag-rts","tag-rts-cost"],"yoast_head":"\nRTS - Project delay and another \u00a318m for 2026\/27 - DHWNEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3351\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RTS - 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