Thames Flooding - More to come?

A new group has formed in Weybridge to highlight the risks to Weybridge by the Environment Agency plans for the Thames and Wey. To help remove the flooding risks between Windsor and Weybridge a series of new works have been undertaken and more are planned.  Eventually they will enter the Thames as shown below. Judging from the flows of the current river it will mean that there will be new pressure building up at the upper Desborough Bridge which is only 24m wide.  This pinch-point will cause the Thames to back-up and flood its banks (as happened in the recent flood). What makes matters worse is that the new cut from Chertsey will be up to 60m wide bringing even greater pressure on the Thames around its confluence with the Wey.                   One option is to effectively continue the new cut through the north west corner of Desborough Island.  This would keep the flood flowing within the main channel of the Thames.                   One of the advantages of this plan would be that a new pedestrian/cycling bridge could be constructed like those that Sustrans build across the country.                 For background information please click here.