Ironically the sun was shining kindly outside as St Mary’s Parish Hall in Lower Sunbury was filled to capacity with river dwellers from the area. Concerned at the possible impact a flood alleviation scheme might have on Sunbury and Shepperton, Village Matters had taken the initiative to call a meeting, gathering Spelthorne MP Kwasi Kwarteng, the Environment Agency and local councillors.
Comparing this year to other great floods of 1947 and 2003, David Murphy, Project Executive for the River Thames Scheme (RTS) explained in his presentation that more water had been recorded going over Teddington weir in February 2014 that during both previous floods combined. That the events of winter 2014 were extreme was not disputed. What we were concerned about was the effect the RTS might have on Sunbury and Shepperton. The channel is proposed to re-join the Thames just above Shepperton and as Wraysbury was severely flooded this year, arguably because of the Jubilee River, we needed answers.
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