Overview

Updated on 8 July 2025

What is this page?

This page contains the latest updates from the West London Communities project. It provides the context for why the project is being delivered and also gives you links to important related information, including recent newsletters, FAQs and other related projects going ahead that link to this one. Links to relevant documents can be found at the bottom of this page.

We will update this page every 6 months at this stage of the project; we plan to provide the next update in October 2025.

Latest project update

We previously estimated that we would be able to share a full project update and a summary of modelling outputs around late July. Unfortunately, we are not going to deliver to that estimate. We recognise that further delays will be very frustrating for everyone and we are sorry for the inconvenience this causes.

We want to reiterate that we are committed to sharing the modelling outputs we received from Binnnies in March 2025. We have been working to interpret the technical report that our consultants have completed and produce material that allows everyone to understand what it shows. This process has taken slightly longer than we had expected and we are working hard to get this to you in the Autumn

As we move into Summer holidays and parliamentary recess, we anticipate progress to slow down somewhat before picking up again in September. With this in mind, we now hope to share the outputs and further project updates with you in Autumn this year.

West London Communities Project Context

The Thames Barrier and associated defences were originally designed to manage the tidal risk upstream of the Barrier to Teddington Weir for the duration of its lifespan to 2070. Over the last few decades, the original remit has expanded to manage fluvial flooding to areas further upstream of Teddington Weir. This means the Barrier now closes more frequently than it would under the original operating procedures. If this elevated operation continues, then the Barrier will not be able to fulfil its original intended purpose with the required level of reliability. As part of the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan, which sets out how we can manage rising sea levels and increasing tidal flood risk on the Thames, we need to manage the number of Thames Barrier closures to preserve its lifespan. We provide further information on Barrier reliability and maximum closures in the related documents below.