Member of Parliament for Windsor, Jack Rankin, has met with the Water and Flooding Minister, Emma Hardy MP, to discuss funding of Channel 1 of the River Thames Scheme.
Last month, Rankin called on the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to ensure the Scheme was funded as national strategic infrastructure during Prime Minister’s Questions.
In response, the Prime Minister promised a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss this critical flood prevention project.
The River Thames Scheme, as initially proposed, would have protected between Datchet and Teddington from devastating floods seen in 2014 and last January.
The lack of financial resilience and small size of RBWM as an authority means that financing Channel 1 through ‘partnership funding’ is simply not feasible – leaving the villages of Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor in the Windsor constituency at risk.
In his meeting with the Minister, Jack reiterated the need to fund Channel 1 as national strategic infrastructure and the importance of managing flood defences holistically to protect these villages.
The Minister understood the limitations to the partnership funding model and will be beginning a review in May to explore different approaches, which Rankin confirmed he would feed into “heavily”.
Commenting, Jack Rankin MP said:
“Preventing the disastrous floods we saw in 2013/14 and again last January across Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor is one of my biggest priorities.
“The ‘gap’ in defences caused by the absence of Channel 1 is illogical and damages holistic flood management ahead of significant investment.
“I am pleased that the Flooding Minister accepted that the current ‘partnership funding’ mechanism has limitations locally and welcome a review - which I hope leads to a solution that sees Channel 1 of the River Thames Scheme funded as national strategic infrastructure.
“Time is of the essence. Residents want action to ensure they are protected and I will continue campaigning locally and in Parliament for our villages.”
