River Thames Scheme Consultation 2024

Proposed new Thames foot/cycle crossing from Desborough and across new Flood Relief Channel weir

The River Thames Scheme statutory consultation starts on 22 January 2024 and runs until 4 March 2024. While the flood relief elements largely benefit areas upstream of Weybridge, the landscaping proposals contain a major win for those of us who have campaigned for better sustainable travel linkage between Weybridge and Shepperton: a plan for a new pedestrian/cycle bridge across the River Thames from Desborough Island, giving access to Shepperton, and to a network of new riverside walks and green areas alongside the new flood relief channels. This will be a major step in sustainably linking our communities.

The consultation is open to all.

You can view the RTS Statutory Consultation documents here.
And you can view the RTS Consultation StoryMaps website here.
There will be RTS Consultation drop in events and exhibitions at a variety of local venues in the coming weeks. See locations and dates for RTS Consultation events.
Nearby RTS Consultation Events include:
– Chertsey Hall, Heriot Rd, KT16 9DR – Friday 2 Feb, 1pm to 7pm
– Shepperton Village Hall, 58A High St, TW17 9AU – Saturday 3 Feb 10am to 4pm
– Vine Hall, Vine Rd, Molesey, East Molesey KT8 9LF – Sunday 4 Feb 10am to 4pm
– Cecil Hepworth Playhouse, Hurst Grove, Walton KT12 1AU – Monday 5 Feb 1pm to 7pm
– Shepperton Village Hall, 58A High St, TW17 9AU – Saturday 17 Feb 10am to 4pm

PPDRA has participated in stakeholder meetings and consultations since the start of the River Thames Scheme. We were originally greatly concerned about potential flooding around Walton Lane Weybridge from the discharge of a flood relief channel opposite D’Oyly Carte Island, and about the amenity impact of proposals to displace the Thames Path in widening Desborough Cut.

Detailed flood modelling discussions from 2015 onwards were reassuring, and also established that lowering the riverbed downstream of Desborough Island would have a more positive effect on flow and flood relief than widening the Cut. Combined with proposals for the long hoped-for cycle/footbridge to Shepperton, this gives the scheme a much more positive impact for Weybridge residents and users of the Thames Path and National Cycle Route 4.

You can read more about previous RTS consultations and PPDRA questions and input on this website, including:

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Here is a copy of the RTS 2024 Statutory Consultation announcement email:

Have Your Say on The River Thames Scheme- 22nd January 2024 to 4th March 2024

“I am writing to you to notify you that statutory consultation on the River Thames Scheme (“the Scheme”) will run from 22nd January 2024 to 4th March 2024.

The Scheme is being delivered by the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council, in partnership with other local authorities and interested parties. It represents a new landscape-based approach to creating healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable communities. The integrated Scheme responds to the challenges of flooding; creating more access to green open spaces and sustainable travel routes, in addition to encouraging inclusive economic growth, increasing biodiversity and responding to the dual challenges of climate change and nature recovery.

Once built, the flood channel will be considered in legal terms to be a ‘flood defence structure’ and it is intended that it will also be a ‘main river’. Further information on what this means is contained in the statutory consultation brochure and on the consultation website set out below.

The Scheme includes the following proposals:

The creation of a new flood channel in two sections through the boroughs of Runnymede and Spelthorne, totalling over 5 miles (8.5km) long;
Capacity improvements to the River Thames through lowering the middle part of the bed of the River Thames downstream of Desborough Cut;
Capacity improvements to the Sunbury, Molesey, and Teddington weirs to increase the amount of water that can flow through them by installing more gates that can be opened when river levels rise;
New green open spaces associated with the flood channel, with access for local communities and facilities such as sports fields, accessible pathway network, nature play spaces and associated new landscape features;
Priority areas for habitat creation, enhancement and mitigation, which link existing and new wildlife corridors, improve fish passage and build upon the network of existing wildlife sites;
New or improved active travel provision associated with the flood channel corridor in areas of enhanced public connection, linking to the existing network and two new pedestrian and cycle bridges across the River Thames at Chertsey and Desborough Island;
Changes to the road layout and utilities, including temporary diversions during construction;
Temporary construction features such as site compounds and materials processing and storage sites; and
Temporary car parking for construction workers.

Following a direction from the Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Scheme has been designated a project of national significance for which development consent is required. As such, the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council will be required to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO). The Scheme is currently in the pre-application stage of the DCO application process.

We are now holding a statutory consultation on our proposals and this is your chance to help us shape the design we submit to the Planning Inspectorate as part of the DCO application.

To find out more:

Visit our consultation website: www.riverthamesscheme.org.uk to access our consultation materials, including interactive maps and online feedback form.
Come along to one of our consultation events- where you can speak to a member of the project team and view the consultation materials.

Additionally, we will be hosting virtual events for those unable to attend the in-person events. To sign up to one of these events, simply email: enquiries@riverthamesscheme.org.uk.

The consultation will run for a period of six weeks between 22nd January and 4th March 2024. The deadline for submitting responses will be 11:59pm on 4th March 2024.

Have your say by:

Completing the online feedback form: www.riverthamesscheme.org.uk
Completing the paper feedback form: Available at our public consultation events and returning it to the address below.
Writing a letter to: FREEPOST RTUK – RBLY – XUBT, RIVER THAMES SCHEME, 5 First Street, Manchester, M15 4GU
Sending an email to: enquiries@riverthamesscheme.org.uk

The Environment Agency and Surrey County Council will consider and have regard to all responses when developing the DCO application following the consultation. Please note that responses and other representations will be recorded in and form the basis of a Consultation Report and, therefore may become public. For further details please see our Privacy Notice on the Scheme website www.riverthamesscheme.org.uk/privacy.

The project team and I look forward to meeting you at one of our consultation events and receiving your feedback on the proposals presented.

If you have any queries about this correspondence, the Scheme or the consultation, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at enquiries@riverthamesscheme.org.uk.

Yours sincerely,
Jeanne Capey
River Thames Scheme, Project Director ”

Elmbridge disposal of public open space at Dorney Gardens

Elmbridge Borough Council posted the following formal notice on 26th May 2023. The deadline to object was 9th June 2023.

We hope this simply relates to renewing/updating the lease arrangements between the Council and the Tennis and Sailing Clubs, but have seen nothing announced locally. It does not seem to have received much publicity, and we only became aware of it at the end of August. We are seeking further information.

ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL
NOTICE OF DISPOSAL OF OPEN SPACE

LAND AT: Dorney Gardens, Walton Lane, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8LU.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with Section 123(2A) Local Government Act 1972, that Elmbridge Borough Council (“The Council”) intends to dispose of an area of public open space.

The proposed disposal is two leases of open space land having a total approximate area of 11,400 square metres at Dorney Gardens, Walton Lane, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8LU (the “Property”).

A plan showing the extent of the Properties to be so disposed of may be inspected at the Civic Centre, High Street, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9SD on Monday to Friday each week (public holidays excepted) until 9th June 2023.

The Council will consider any objections to the proposed disposals as may be made to it.

Any person objecting to the above proposal should write to: Property Portfolio Manager, Elmbridge Borough Council, Civic Centre, High Street, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9SD no later than 16th June 2023, giving full particulars of the grounds of his or her objection.

Dated: 26/05/2023

From: https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/notices/Statutory/Walton-Lane—Notice-Of-Disposal-Of-Open-Space/646dd7874bda3c001abf0ca3

River Thames Scheme consultation Dec 2022

The latest River Thames Scheme consultation, on proposals for routes and landscaping, is open 8 November 2022 until 20 December 2022. The new consultation includes an exciting option for active travel which would be very positive for Weybridge residents — the potential creation of a new ‘active travel’ pedestrian/cycle bridge crossing from Desborough to Shepperton. We understand that the RTS budget does not currently include this, but if there is strong support for the proposal, who knows… See below for links, and share your views.

PPDRA has been active in RTS stakeholder consultations from the outset, seeking to ensure that the scheme, which includes a relief channel discharging opposite Desborough Island, has a positive impact locally. We have supported proposals for lowering the riverbed downstream of Desborough, rather than widening Desborough Cut (which would displace the Thames Path), stressed the importance of conserving Desborough Island, and have promoted the benefits of including a new pedestrian/cycle bridge.

Here is a link to the RTS online questionnaire.

“Depending on the amount of information you wish to include, it could take as little as 5 minutes”

“All responses should be received by Tuesday 20 December 2022. If you want to read more about the scheme before you answer the questions, please look at our Consultation information. “

You can read more about previous RTS consultations and PPDRA questions and input on this website, including:

For information here is a copy of the personally submitted responses to the 2022 RTS Consultation from PPDRA Chair, Miles Macleod:

MM River Thames Scheme consultation responses

Question 4

Just downstream from Desborough Cut we are proposing lowering the riverbed. How much do you agree or disagree with this approach?

MM response:

Strongly support.

There were some very strong objections, from local residents and other users of the Thames Path, to widening the Desborough Cut on either bank:

– Cutting into the southern bank of Desborough Cut alongside the Thames Path and National Cycle Route would reduce the path’s green setting, and would displace the path in places, moving it closer to Walton Lane traffic. This would diminish a highly valued and much used amenity (and cause its entire loss for the duration of the works).

– Cutting into the northern bank would involve the removal of many mature trees.

– There was no proposal to widen Desborough Cut under the two bridges, which concerned nearby residents who have been flooded.

The validated modelling indicating that lowering the riverbed downstream would sufficiently increase the flow around Desborough Island offers a much more welcome solution for avoiding increase in local river levels and riverside flooding when the new flood channel operates.

Question 5

The River Thames Scheme will provide better access to new green open spaces, connect people with wildlife and deliver a more sustainable travel network. How do you think we should provide better access to new green open spaces?

MM response:

The new green open spaces look excellent. Sadly we will be cut off from them in Weybridge, other than via the Shepperton foot ferry or main roads.

It would be wonderful:

1/ To be connected to the new spaces via a new pedestrian and cycle river crossing, a simple slender bridge from Desborough Island to the Shepperton bank, immediately north of the west Desborough Cut bridge, which links to the Thames Path.

2/ To enhance the riverside green spaces beside the Thames Path in the Desborough Cut / D’Oyly Carte Island area, and the path surface itself. These are valued amenities that could do with some sympathetic care in line with the new open green spaces.

– The popular Desborough Cut stretch of the Thames Path / Cycle Route has become even more heavily used following the pandemic and lockdowns (when daily riverside walks meant joining a procession of people getting their outdoor exercise).

– The walked/cycled area of the path is now twice the width of the previous hardcore based path, and becomes extremely muddy and puddled in wet winter weather

– It would benefit from more stone surfacing to meet the needs of the increased use

– It would benefit from reduction of the self-seeded sycamore etc scrub along the riverbank, which has progressively obscured the river views in places.

– Some intentional planting of more suitable trees along the riverside would be welcome.

Question 6

How do you think we could allow users of the new green open spaces to connect with wildlife?

MM response:

Trees and information about wildlife are essential.

Some board walks and bird hides would be very welcome and add great value.

Question 7

How do you think we could create a more sustainable travel network in Surrey? For example, providing cycle/walking paths connecting places of work, schools, railway stations, and linking to other existing footpaths and trails, and so on?

MM response:

Better local linking via safe cycle routes and footpaths is much needed.

At Weybridge, people arrive heading west on the Thames Path / Cycle Route wanting to cross the river at Weybridge, and if too late for the privately run foot ferry have to retrace their steps to Walton Bridge.

It would be transforming to connect the existing Thames Path and National Cycle Route 4 to the new cycle/walking paths, via a new pedestrian and cycle bridge from Desborough Island to the Shepperton bank, immediately north of the west Desborough Cut road bridge.

This would link communities which are currently separated, and greatly increase the possibility of safe and green travel between them by cycle and on foot.

Improving safety: National Cycle Route 4 through Weybridge currently moves from the Thames Path away from the river onto busy roads, with no proper cycleways, where there have been fatal accidents to cyclists (Balfour Road / Weybridge Road).

Question 8

We will need to balance these factors in the design we develop
– Access to new green open spaces
– More sustainable travel network
– Connection with wildlife

MM response:

This is a difficult forced choice: 1 & 2 are really a dead heat, and all are interconnected.

Green spaces and connection with wildlife are at a premium within the M25, and important for mental wellbeing and physical heath. We are very lucky in Weybridge to have the tranquility of Desborough Island, a natural green open space which is visited and valued by countless walkers and dog walkers, and the Thames and Wey riversides with their captivating wildlife, enjoyed by thousands.

Sustainably connecting a network of green open spaces would be a big win.

Increasing sustainable travel is essential.

Question 9

While we are committed to providing green open spaces, creating habitats and increasing biodiversity, there may be areas where we need to balance these. We would like to know which of these you value most.

MM response:

Both equally important

Green open spaces are much more appealing when they are sufficiently natural and inhabited by wildlife.

Question 10

Is there anything we should take into account in our scheme design?

MM response:

The need for interconnection, so that more communities have wider access to the new spaces and habitats.

Question 11

Is there anything we should take into account in our approach to construction?

MM response:

Please minimise impact on residents’ use of existing amenities, such as the Thames Path, and the much loved and visited public meadows and footpaths on Desborough Island. We don’t want to be cut off from these!

And what is going to happen to the outdoor swimming at Shepperton?

Question 12

Finally, is there anything else you think we should consider as we develop our proposals for the River Thames Scheme further?

MM response:

The River Thames Scheme has caused much concern for residents in Weybridge Riverside over the years. The feeling that other people’s flood problems are literally being dumped on our doorsteps via new flood channels. That our local green and natural spaces are being threatened by proposed construction works that would REDUCE the quality our green and natural local environment — removing the green riverbank alongside the Thames Path, taking away public parts of Desborough Island — while promoting the benefits of less flooding and more green spaces for residents of Spelthorne and Runnymede.

We need to be sure that our lives in Weybridge are not going to be made worse by this very expensive project.

Local Plan Consultation – PPDRA comments

The Elmbridge Local Plan consultation has given Weybridge residents an opportunity to comment on options which will shape the character of our town and borough over the next 15 years. Government demands that EBC finds space for around 9400 new homes mean there are no easy choices: any of the options on offer will have effects which residents may not like. PPDRA has submitted the following comments:

ELMBRIDGE LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION 2019 – SUBMISSION

This is a submission in response to the Elmbridge Local Plan Consultation of behalf of the committee of Portmore Park and District Residents Association.

We have studied the indicative options put forward by Elmbridge Borough Council in public documentation and at the Weybridge consultation meeting, and we have informally canvassed preferences within the local community in north Weybridge.

Overview

In summary, we would support a sympathetic ‘optimising’ of urban areas – subject to some caveats, below – and a small degree of development on some ‘weakly performing’ Green Belt land so long as it minimises any negative impact on existing residents (indicative Option 2, with Option 5 in reserve).

We strongly oppose the options of ‘intensifying’ urban areas or wholesale release of Green Belt.

We have a question about how residents can help influence the evolution of the character of our town as housing density increases. We would also like more Local Green Spaces designated.

Rationale

1/ Intensifying urban areas in the way described in Option 1 would have an extremely negative impact on quality of life and the character of Weybridge and other Elmbridge towns. It would be wholly unacceptable.

North Weybridge is characterised by open and green settings, local open spaces, gabled buildings in Victorian and Edwardian style, and low rise development even in high density areas (e.g. terraced cottages), with larger buildings set well back. Intensification would significantly reduce the quality of life and damage the character of our town. It would remove some key reasons for living in Weybridge. A number of existing residents have told us they would want to move away.

2/ Large Green Belt release (Option 3) would again be a wholly unacceptable option. It would change the character of the whole borough, and make Elmbridge a much less desirable place to live.

3/ A small amount of development on Green Belt land appears unavoidable. It is essential this only affects weakly performing Green Belt, and is planned in a way which has minimum negative impact on existing residents: e.g. by incorporating wildlife corridors and local green spaces to soften the impact and give some visual separation of new development from old; also ensuring truly adequate infrastructure ahead of development.

We would support the level of Green Belt development suggested in indicative Option 2. We have concerns that, if larger areas of Green Belt are selected (as indicated in Option 5), developers will simply build on Green Belt first, before tackling more difficult brownfield/infill sites. But we recognise the value – if there is to be any building at all on Green Belt – of the kind of analysis underlying Option 5.

While we recognise that the ‘performance’ of Green Belt needs to be judged against defining criteria, we consider that some mechanism is also needed for residents to offer input into how Elmbridge categorises the significance of specific areas of Green Belt.

For example, the strips of Green Belt separating Weybridge from Walton are highly significant in preventing the two towns appearing to be simply part of one endless conurbation. They help define the towns. Some of these areas of Green Belt also have significant local amenity value, as well as being important to the landscape and urban identity (e.g. Cowey Sale, Desborough Island, the Grotto Road Recreation Ground and land at Broadwater Farm, Oatlands Park and allotments).

4/ ‘Optimisation’ of towns must not include development which leads to damaging intensification (including over dominant infill) and loss of character.

Some of the Proposed Urban Sites in Weybridge would significantly damage the character of our area. For example US401, the prominent triangle of green space between the southern end of Grenside Road and Thames Street, has significant value in shaping the character of the area: it is visible from the Monument Green Conservation Area, and maintains a continuation of visual green and open character into the southern section of Thames Street.

5/ Local green spaces are essential to the character and quality of daily life in Weybridge. Losing any green spaces would remove some key reasons for living in Weybridge. We would like to propose further green spaces in north Weybridge including:

green space between Grenside Road and Thames Street (US401), reason described above
the Grotto Road Recreation Ground (i.e. the football field at the end of Grenside Road) which while already protected to some extant as Green Belt has high amenity value
Cowey Sale Open Space, Walton Lane (Green Belt with high amenity value)
Darnley Park Open Space
Desborough Island, Walton Lane (Green Belt with high amenity value)
Finnart Close Open Spaces
‘The Grotto’ Marlborough Drive
Walton Lane Open Space (by Canoe Club & car park – riverside Green Belt with high amenity value)

Who shapes the future character of Weybridge?

At the 27 August consultation meeting, we were advised that a Neighbourhood Plan was really only useful where large scale development/redevelopment was planned. We were also told that with an increase in housing density, the character of a town would inevitably change.

Our question then is, how can residents help shape and moderate that change in the character of Weybridge, if not through a Neighbourhood Forum and Neighbourhood Plan?

Previous Elmbridge Local Plans have characterised sub-areas of towns in some detail – e.g. characterising Portmore Park Road as a ‘Suburban Boulevard’ – which has helped guide councillors in making decisions about granting consent to planning applications which affect character.

At present, planning officers can give advice based on national planning law and housing ambitions, with apparently insufficient regard to local factors such an application’s impact on the character and openness etc of a specific locality (e.g. St Catherine’s, Beales Lane, Weybridge).

We are currently in a position where applications which local residents and councillors consider to have deleterious and damaging impact on the character of our town (such as Bridge House, High St Weybridge) can appear to be voted through by councillors from other towns, without the benefit of any strong specific guidance about making new developments fit with the character of our town.

Is there some way in which the local knowledge of residents and local councillors, and their aspirations for future development of their neighbourhood, can contribute to a formal source of such guidance on local character?

Download a pdf of our Local Plan Consultation submission here

The future shape of Weybridge: have your say on 27 August

The Government says Elmbridge must find space for around 9,400 new homes in the borough over the next fifteen years. EBC has now put together five Local Plan options, from intensive high rise building in our towns to building on some of the Green Belt.

UPDATE: Consultation is open until 30 September – read more and submit your views at https://consult.elmbridge.gov.uk/consult.ti/LPOC/consultationHome?

Residents interested in the future development of Weybridge can learn more and have their say at an Elmbridge Local Plan consultation meeting in Esher on 27 August, 7-9pm. You need to book a place in advance, and can also submit panel questions in advance.

Elmbridge Borough Council currently has no preferred option — it is going to make a decision after the public consultation, so your views really do matter!

The options include things that will be unwelcome for residents in some areas. A 2016 consultation proposed building on 3% of Green Belt, and was vocally opposed by residents potentially affected by building on Green Belt, for example two areas of Cobham. This has increased pressure for higher density high rise building in larger towns (Walton and Weybridge).

It is important that residents in each part of Elmbridge have a fair say. To find out more about the options:

View our PPDRA Local Plan Special Newsletter here
Download the draft Local Plan options paper from the EBC website.

Here is what Elmbridge Borough Council says about the consultation:

On 24 July, Elmbridge Borough Council’s Cabinet met to discuss the upcoming Local Plan consultation and agreed on the options to be presented to Elmbridge residents from 19 August – 30 September 2019. They also agreed to a series of six public meetings to discuss the options with residents and to hear the views of our residents.

The meetings will each have a different area focus, they will all take place at the Civic Centre off the High Street in Esher and they will all be webcast, allowing residents to watch all the meetings from the comfort of their homes.

The meeting dates and area focus are as follows:

Tuesday 27 August, 7-9pm – Weybridge
Wednesday 28 August, 7-9pm – Walton-on-Thames and Hersham
Thursday 29 August, 7-9pm – Molesey
Monday 2 September, 7-9pm – Cobham, Oxshott and Stoke d’Abernon
Tuesday 3 September, 7-9pm – The Dittons and Hinchley Wood
Thursday 5 September, 7-9pm – Esher and Claygate

Residents should book to attend a meeting and we would request that residents attend one meeting only in person, to allow as many as people as possible to take part in the consultation. The webcast is also available to all and there will be a webcast replay service.

The format of the public meetings will be as follows:

7pm – Presentation on the Local Plan options

On the panel:

Ray Lee, Strategic Director, Elmbridge Borough Council
Kim Tagliarini, Head of Planning Services, Elmbridge Borough Council,
Rachael Thorold, Local Plan Manager, Elmbridge Borough Council

7.30pm – Questions and answers session

Questions should be submitted in advance.
Following registration, residents will be sent an email with the opportunity to submit a question for the panel.

Councillor Karen Randolph, Portfolio Holder for Planning Services, would like to encourage residents to get involved in the upcoming consultation:

“The Local Plan is vitally important for the future of Elmbridge and we want to ensure that our residents are fully aware of the options, which is why I would encourage our residents to come along to the relevant public meeting or watch it through the webcast. Please book online to attend and send us your question in advance to ensure we can provide you with a full response.”

Conserving Broadwater Lake

Broadwater Path opens the way to funding

Weybridge residents and visitors alike are enjoying lakeside walks along Broadwater Path, between Grenside Road and Cowey Sale. Its dedication as a public footpath and its new crushed stone surface give year round access to the lakeside – a beautful, tranquil, historic local feature, rich with wildlife.

What many don’t know is that the path is essential for the future of the lake itself. Without formal public access, the lake would not qualify for the public funding needed to stop it silting up. Broadwater is a centuries old man made lake, which requires maintenance.

Without dredging, the lake silts and becomes marshland, growing rushes then self-seeded trees. In the 14 years that residents (including PPDRA) pressed for the path, silting got worse at the Greenlands Road end. The middle length also silted badly, until residents raised funds to dredge.

Last year Elmbridge BC contributed a CIL grant, which helped fund some urgent dredging. The Broadwater Conservation Society is now seeking public funding from national sources, and wider local support.

This historic lake is an important part of local heritage. So PPDRA proposes to become affiliated to the Broadwater Conservation Society. To be voted on at our AGM on 13 September.

Broadwater Lake and Path, August 2018

Weybridge Point scheme making progress

Plans for improving Weybridge Point took a step forward on 7th December, at a meeting between the Thames Landscape Strategy (TLS), Weybridge residents groups, Weybridge Ladies ARC and local councillors.

The Weybridge Point Scheme was initiated by TLS and the Weybridge Society, and obtained CIL funding after it incorporated some adjustments to meet local needs better (proposed by PPDRA, Weybridge Ladies ARC and other local groups).

Work is soon to start. On 7th December, plans developed from previous meetings — for landscaping the car park and enhancing the ability to view the river and weir — were adjusted so that all parties were happy with the proposals.

Weybridge Point overlooks the confluence of the Thames and Wey, and is valued in many ways: as a riverside car park; as the entrance to our local stretch of the Thames Path; as part of national Cycle Route 4; as a convenient place for mooring visiting boats; and as a place with a picturesque view towards Shepperton Weir.

The Weybridge Point scheme aims to enhance its use for all of those purposes.

The draft TLS plan with a diagonal path was a significant improvement on the very first plans, but it was agreed that it needed some adjustments to avoid reducing riverside parking, to moderate cycle speed past the entrance to the WLARC boathouse, where boats are often carried across the path, and to keep the emergency vehicle access clear. PPDRA suggested some modifications.

The annotated plan on the left illustrates the agreed amendments.

Putting a dogleg in the desire line path enables maximum parking with a riverside view, slows cycles at the key point, and prevents obstruction of the path and emergency access. A low safety barrier railing will separate the parking from the riverside edge, without obstructing views.

Making the viewing platform a suitable and practical size was high on the agenda. The ground beyond the edge of the car park is fairly level before it drops away. Decking over the relatively level part would be far more affordable than decking needing a tall engineered structure for support.

There was also much discussion of how to limit litter being left outside bins. This has been an increasingly troublesome issue, since the moorings were upgraded and enlarged.

Suggestions at the meeting were for a large (commercial sized) wheeled bin with lid, for boat rubbish, plus normal bins for use by pedestrians and other visitors to the riverside. The best location for the boat bin is still under discussion, as it depends on easy access for emptying.

Overall the meeting was very positive, and all parties look forward to work starting as soon as possible, so the results can be enjoyed this summer — if at all possible, in time for the Weybridge ladies ARC Regatta on 10th June.

PPDRA has found a picture of Weybridge Point on a postcard sent from Weybridge in 1909.

It shows a view of the weir, with working horses and a small moored boat in the foreground.

Weybridge Point is a place residents and visitors alike appreciate, and true asset for our community. We look forward to it regaining some of its picturesque charm.

Broadwater Path taking shape at last

Broadwater Path – Weybridge Public Footpath 40

Broadwater Path — a picturesque walk along the edge of Broadwater lake — is at long last becoming a properly surfaced reality. The path runs through the tranquil Green Belt countryside between Grenside Road, Weybridge and Cowey Sale (Walton Bridge). Work to lay the crushed stone surface started this month, and should be completed by mid September.

At the time of writing, nearly half the length has already been surfaced, and it looks superb — a good solid surface where before there was tangled undergrowth and mud. It will be a wonderful lasting asset for our community.

Broadwater Path surfacing in progress July 2017

The surfacing is possible thanks to Community Infrastructure Levy funding secured from Elmbridge Borough Council.

The formal dedication of the public footpath by Surrey County Council was complete by the start of this year, after over 15 years of local effort to make it happen.

Broadwater Path is more than a walk though beautiful scenery — the dedication of the public footpath opens the way for public funding to help conserve the historic Broadwater lake, which has been silting up badly in recent years. We can now look forward with greater confidence to this priceless local feature being enjoyed by future generations.

The final agreed official route of Broadwater Path

RTS Walton Lane flood meeting update

Flood prevention was the main topic of an informative meeting on 19 December in Walton Lane, Weybridge, between representatives of the Environment Agency River Thames Scheme and local residents. We learned more about the status of work to model flood flows and levels, and the latest thinking on options for carrying excess water around Desborough Island.

The current preferred option is to widen Desborough Channel by cutting back the north bank (the Desborough Island side of the channel), which would avoid displacing the nationally important amenity of the Thames Path, which runs along the south bank.

The north bank is overgrown with self-seeded trees, a number of which which are reaching the end of their natural life, and in recent years several have been blown down in storms, sometimes partly obstructing the channel. (UPDATE March 2017: The picture below shows a recently blown down poplar, and scrubby trees growing into the channel.)

Widening the north bank would enable this edge of Desborough island, which has been prone to fly tipping, to be made into an appealing riverside nature amenity. It seems there is a balance to be struck in the decision however, with a few residents of Spelthorne wanting the south bank cut back.

Some Walton Lane residents meanwhile are pressing for the excess river flows to be diverted around the Spelthorne side of Desborough Island, by relocating the direction of the proposed Flood Channel 3 discharge, and dredging around the north of Desborough Island.

The current plans are to discharge the water back into the Thames by D’Oyly Carte Island, reentering the Thames more or less at right angles to the flow of the main river.

Miles Macleod asked if the effects of the momentum of a 150 cubic metres per second flow entering the main stream at right angles had been taken into account (as the momentum of this flow would logically push up the water level against the south bank just before the narrow first Desborough bridge). It seems this has not yet been looked at in the 1D modelling, but the more detailed 2D flow and level modelling will seek to incorporate it.

Headlines from the meeting:

Bottom line of the RTS is that it should cause no increase in risk anywhere
At the top of Desborough current modelling shows a 0.04 to 0.11 metre reduction in flood levels
Modelling has been calibrated using data from six real flood events
Calibration of the model includes past flows from all sources (fluvial and groundwater)
Target accuracy is +/- 0.15 metres (i.e. it might not actually reduce levels at Desborough…)
The river bed beneath the Desborough bridges will be lowered by around 2 metres to accommodate extra flow
Current preferred option for increasing flow around Desborough is to cut back the north bank of the Cut

We had a number of questions for which immediate answers were not available, and the EA team have very helpfully now supplied these. Some key points are that:

The total volume of water occupying the floodplain in a 1 in 20 year flood is equivalent to about six hours flow of the Thames
Extra total flow downstream of the RTS relief channels caused by that water draining from the floodplain is modelled at about 5-10 cubic metres per second (cumecs) in a total river flow of 500 cumecs
More water currently flows around the north of Desborough Island around the old river loop than flows down Desborough Cut; this position will be reversed by the changes proposed in the RTS
The width of the channel under the first Desborough bridge below water level is 23.2 metres (and this will not be increased); the modelling takes this into account

Once again, we are extremely grateful to the River Thames Scheme team for the time and effort they are putting into keeping our local community consulted and informed.

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A view towards the Desborough Cut north bank

UPDATE: North bank of the Desborough Cut, viewed from the Thames Path on the south bank in February 2017. Note the poplar blown over in a recent storm, and various trees growing out into the channel obstructing flow.

Thames Lock – new gates and tour

Thames Lock in the Wey Navigation has a new pair of lock gates, and residents were give a rare opportunity to inspect them from inside the lock at the end of November, on completion of the work. Large numbers of interested visitors were treated to tours by guides with a deep knowledge of the Wey Navigation history, construction and maintenance.

The wooden lock gates last about twenty years, and this year it was the turn of the lower gates to be renewed. Temporary barriers were installed immediately upstream and downstream of the lock, and the water pumped out. The huge gates are held in their hinges by gravity, so changing the gates was a matter of hoisting out the old and lowering the new custom-built gates into place.

This empty lock gave a rare chance to view the parts of Thames Lock that are normally under water. The upper gates are smaller, as they sit on top of the step to the higher level of the navigation.

The floor of the lock was originally wood — which is preserved by being under water with very little access to oxygen — but was replaced by concrete some time ago. The step beneath the upper gates is still made of wood, and includes original Elm baulks which have survived hundreds of years since the navigation was constructed.

Lock gates suffer decay because they are exposed to air and water. The effects can be seen in the old lower gates, pictured here waiting to be taken away by barge. One can only wonder how many boats have those gates have helped pass up and down the Wey Navigation.