The Environment Agency has decided that increased costs and reduced benefits of the proposed Reading & Caversham Flood Alleviation Scheme mean it will not attract government funding and will therefore not be progressed further.

Photo courtesy Environment Agency: Caversham Weir Reading 

The decision follows the Agency’s conclusion of its review of the proposed scheme for Reading and Caversham to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses. The review covered flood walls, earth embankments and a bypass channel, together with a review of the scheme costs and benefits.

Reading and Caversham is the largest developed area in the Thames Valley at risk from flooding with no planned flood scheme. 

According to a report on Berkshire Live in February 2020, the Environment Agency had said the area is likely to have serious flooding problems unless the work near the River Thames is done. The news story said at the time that the current cost of the project in Reading, Berkshire was around £30 million and £11 million in Government funding had “definitely been secured.”

"We have not been able to find a cost beneficial option and recommend that the scheme is not progressed”

The review found that there is an increase in costs and a reduction in the economic benefits the scheme could provide. The Environment Agency said:

“We have looked at various options to reduce flood risk in the north Reading and Lower Caversham area. We have not been able to find a cost beneficial option and recommend that the scheme is not progressed.”

According to the Agency, the construction of the bypass channel and associated works and reduction in the economic benefits means the proposed scheme is not cost beneficial. The increased costs and reduced benefits mean the proposed scheme would not attract government funding and will not be progressed.

The scheme would also lead to a slight increase in flood levels to a small number of properties elsewhere, which is not acceptable.

Commenting on the implications of its decision for people and property at risk of flooding in the area, the Agency said it had carried out robust assessments to look at which communities could benefit from a scheme. The assessments included site investigations, updated flood modelling and ground and property surveys.

According to the EA, the work has improved its understanding of how flooding would occur in north Reading and Lower Caversham and what it means for the community.

Steps now being taken by the Environment Agency to increase flood resilience in the area are:

• sharing its improved flood risk data with Reading Borough Council as part of the Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum to support local flood response plans
• continuing to warn and inform the community when a flood is expected, through the EA’s Flood Warning Service to allow time to act
• the EA will keep working with the community to make sure those who are at flood risk are aware of it and know how to prepare and respond to a flood
• the EA will continue to work with Reading Borough Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority by supporting their surface water schemes and explore whether there are any smaller scale opportunities they can do to manage flood risk in the area

Reading Borough Council is separately carrying out clearance work on Christchurch Ditch, also known as the Danall, which runs through the Christchurch and Hills Meadows.

The ditch is fed by a pipe from the River Thames and provides minor flood alleviation. The council have an annual ditch clearing programme across the borough which is underway.

"Unclear whether Thames Valley Flood Scheme would provide benefit to the Reading and Caversham area"

The Agency is also looking at ways to reduce flood risk across the whole of the River Thames and its tributaries. This includes from its source in Gloucestershire to the tidal limit at Teddington in west London.

Commenting on the potential of the Thames Valley Flood Scheme to complement existing and planned schemes which aims to reduce flood risk to communities where it has not been possible to develop a scheme, the Environment Agency said:

“We consulted on 17 possible approaches which could be developed on a large scale across the Thames Valley ….

“It is unclear at this time whether Thames Valley Flood Scheme would provide benefit to the Reading and Caversham area. We will provide regular updates on the approaches and benefits to geographic locations as we develop them.”

Funding an ongoing issue for Environment Agency

The Environment Agency’s latest corporate scorecard 2021 to 2022 for quarter 2 (1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021) published this week has drawn attention to lack of maintenance funding for existing flood defence assets.

Commenting on the Agency’s commitment to maintain its existing flood and coastal risk management assets at or above the target condition, the report says:

“Asset condition has slowly improved over quarter 2 from 94.3% to 95.4% against the 2021 to 2022 published target of 98%. Due to recent dry weather over quarter 2 this position has started to recover. However, it is still affected by the current level of maintenance funding which is not sufficient to keep up with the rate of deterioration as well as the increasing number of assets to be maintained.”

The Environment Agency’s recent bids for additional climate change adaptation funding in the Spending Review were unsuccessful.