| UK. Boveney Lock leads £8.7million Environment Agency winter works |
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; "Cookham lay-by in the morning mist")
| Thursday, 20 October 2005 | |
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Press release: The Environment Agency is embarking on its largest programme of winter works improvements for ten years across its Anglian, Welsh, Southern and Thames waterways. Boveney Lock on the River Thames will undergo a massive £1.3m refurbishment, the £4.7m overhaul of Rye Fish Market Quay is nearing completion and many other smaller projects will be carried out over the winter months, thanks to the additional £15m funding from Defra allocated to the Environment Agency in March this year. Below is a round-up of major works carried out over the last twelve months and an outline of projects lined up for 2005/6. River Thames The Environment Agency is navigation authority for the non-tidal River Thames from Lechlade to Teddington. These are just three of the major projects to have been completed this year: Cookham Lock was closed for three months, undergoing a £650,000 revamp. The existing riverbank was deteriorating, meaning there was genuine risk of it collapsing into the river, raising safety issues. We re-stabilised the bank and provided a new, larger tail layby. The crumbling riverbank at Eynsham Lock was completely rebuilt to ensure safety. Additionally, mooring at the lock site has been almost doubled in capacity during the £120,000 facelift. New steel lock gates were installed at Sonning Lock in place of the old timber gates, along with out of hours power operation. Steel gates last approximately twenty years more than timber gates and require considerably less maintenance. There are many additional projects planned to further improve the River Thames for our users and these are outlined in the list of lock closures. One of these projects will be at Boveney Lock, which will undergo an extensive makeover, with improvement and protection work on the head lock cut and riverbank; provision of a new head layby; protection of the island riverbank and stabilisation of the tail bullnose. The entire cost of the project is expected to exceed £1m. Southern 2005 saw the onset of two major long-term projects in the Southern region, which covers the River Medway. Phase one of a management plan to improve and encourage leisure activities at Allington Lock has begun. Meanwhile, the first of a £212,000 three-phase project to improve Medway Valley Walk, in association with Medway Valley Countryside Partnership, was launched in April. This includes repairs to the riverbank, essential for the safety of boaters and ramblers alike, and improved access to the popular route at both Yalding and East Peckham. We spent in excess of £600,000 replacing the old Yalding Bascule Bridge, which was constructed in 1976 and had begun to deteriorate. The new bridge spans the Hampstead Canal Cut off the River Medway and provides the sole access route for many people to their homes and also the local village pub. The work involved new hydraulics (used to lift and lower the bridge), safety barriers and strengthening the bridge abutments. Various health and safety improvements will take place along the River Medway this winter and the £4.7m overhaul of Rye Fish Market Quay is on course to be completed next April. Finally, design for the sluice refurbishment at Allington Lock is well advanced. Anglian Major works completed this year include St Neots Lock on the River Great Ouse; South Ferriby Lock on the River Ancholme and work on the River Nene. St Neots underwent a major £1.5m re-build and extension. Re-opened to the public at Easter, the enlarged lock means passage on the river will be quicker and smoother, and a footbridge to cross the lock has also been provided. South Ferriby Lock, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, was modernised in a £200,000 overhaul. After 150 years, the lock keepers are now able to operate lock doors and paddles at the push of a button rather than manually. Amazingly, these changes were made with minimal impact to the unique lock. Further improvement works are planned for the future. The River Nene saw something of a winter revolution, with locks drained, lock gates repaired, plastic paddles installed, lock balance beams extended and treadmills re-built. The programme to power guillotine lock gates also continued, with Cotterstock Lock completed. Wales In Wales, the two-year navigation renewal programme for the Dee Conservancy is due to come to an end. Lighted navigation buoys, new structure lights, together with other new and refurbished aids to navigation have already been installed. The work, estimated to have cost £50,000 in total, is being carried out to allow commercial vessels to safely navigate the Dee in a wider range of weather conditions, such as reduced daylight, potentially even at night - a first for the inner stretches of the river. Julia Simpson, Head of Recreation and Navigation, comments: " With increased funding from Defra we spent £7.4m on our Winter Works improvement programme in 2004/5 (up to April this year) and have another £8.75m committed to projects over the next six months. Our continuous programme of improvements will enhance the rivers for all our users." |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 October 2005 ) |
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