Overview

Updated on 20 March 2023

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 and other related projects going ahead that link to this one.

We will update this page every 6 months at this stage of the project, so the next expected update will be in September 2023.

Latest project update

• We have produced and sent our first newsletter to communities we know will be affected by this project.
• We have produced an FAQ document which contains answers to most of the questions we can answer right now. If you have any questions, not covered by the FAQ, please do get in touch

You can find both of these documents at the bottom of this page

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.