Northmoor Weir

Malcolm Boyden BBC Radio Oxford Tuesday 16th March 2010

Malcolm Boyden (MB) of BBC Radio Oxford

Barry Russell (BR) Flood Risk Manager Environment Agency

MB You have upset my folks in Appleton and Eaton because you did not tell them about this

BR First of all I would really like to thank people like Carol Bateman your caller earlier today because it is people like her that feel very passionately about the Thames that really makes it the attraction that it is with hundreds and thousands of visitors every year and my priorities as publicity manager is to make sure we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of flooding to people who live near the village and this programme of works that we are doing to replace the weir is part of that to reduce that – to reduce the risk of flooding. So that is why we are bringing that programme in to do that.

MB Did you consult them though did you consult the locals residents - they tell me they have been told nothing.

BR Well, we have been doing some consultation with the local community with some historic evaluations that have been published on our website we have also gone around with newsletters to inform them … I think ‘though, we could have done better. We could have got that message out and maybe made it a bit more clearer and engaged more with the local community. But we are very happy to do that and to let them know what is going on and what we are planning to do

MB Bit too late now: it is a done deal isn’t it?

BR The Northmoor Weir is one of nine weirs along the River Thames that is owned by the Environment Agency that is used to control the flows for navigation and flood risk management and as part of the programme we are replacing those weirs and we have been consulting with English Heritage about the historic value of them and some of them are going to be replaced this year and some have been listed and will retain their heritage value. So: we have been consulting with the appropriate bodies to make sure what we are doing is done in the best possible way.

MB You see my listeners in Appleton and Eaton don’t want this place changed because it is historical it dates back to the 1890s … I know you know all of this but these are their concerns and I promised them to tell you about their concerns. Northmoor Lock, the Lock House and the weir – they are passionate about it: it is a beautiful little area and they want it to stay as it is. They are even offering to volunteer to help with this paddle system. Surely you understand that? It is beautiful and they want it left as it is.

BR Absolutely and we really do value the area around Northmoor, the lock and the lock house. But we do want to make the improvements and the improvements are primarily there to enable us to control the river much more accurately so that when we do have high flows as we did in July 2007 we can manage those flows very quickly, reduce the risk of flooding. But also we do want to bring in the local community and let them know what is going on and take their support. The offer that Carol Bateman said about getting more involved with helping to operate the weirs – not necessarily the actual operation of the weirs – but their involvement in what goes on down at Northmoor, we would certainly welcome.

MB Wouldn’t a mechanical gate look ugly?

BR No it won’t. We have been very conscious with what we put in place of the paddle and rhymer weir has actually got to fit in with the local environment: it has got to be visually acceptable. We have been working very closely with people who have been giving us advice on that. They are not people internal: they are people who are experts in this field. We have had sketches drawn up and we would be more than happy to come out and share those with the local people.

MB Please do.

BR When the work is going on we would be very pleased to bring people down to explain what we are doing because we are fully aware that whatever we are do down there is going to have an impact on people particularly with things like the traffic movements we have got going on there. And everything we do we want to make sure we have the full support of the local community to do it in the best way.

MB I am glad you brought up the traffic because those are the other concerns the noise and the traffic and the disruption about this work: how long will it take and how much disruption will there be for the people of Appleton and Eaton?

BR We cannot get away from the fact that this is a big project and the way we want to manage that effectively is to do it in two hits, if you like. Rather than working all throughout the year including winter which is the time when most flooding happens we’ve decided to split it so that we are only working in summer times and that gives us the maximum day light and it also means the works are going to be safest there. But we also want to reduce the impact it has on the on the community and we are going to reduce the number of lorries that need to come through Appleton and surrounding areas. We are going to try and arrange deliveries as far as possible outside the school run periods: we are going to impose a 15 mph speed limit there and in reducing the number of lorries we are looking at re-using as much material as possible from the old weir into the new one.

MB I hope this is not just company speak. I hope you really are going to try and work with the people of Appleton and Eaton because they are devastated that their historical area is going to be disrupted and it is your duty, is it not, to keep the heritage of the waterway alive.

BR: Absolutely: without the that we have on the River Thames it would not be anything as popular as it is bringing in all the tourists there every year and I am very, very keen to work with the local community and happy to show them the plans we have got for the area. Let them see the works as they are ongoing during the two years and really give them every information they want to understand the reasons why we are doing the works and to come down and see them

MB Make sure you do because I am watching you, Barry Russell. Appleton is going to have a fight on its hands because I think it is a done deal. It is a shame that the weir has to be replaced. We cannot stand in the way of progress.