New Thames Barrier delayed for 40 years

PLANS to replace the Thames Barrier to protect the capital from the increased risk of global warming are to be delayed by 40 years.

The Environment Agency said today it believes the existing barrier, which became operational in 1983, can now protect London until at least 2070.

Experts had previously thought it would only protect the 1.25million people living in the Thames floodplain until 2030 and had been drawing up plans for a major new barrier at Sheerness in Kent.

But the agency now claims the latest science on sea-level rise and the design of the barrier mean it will be able to cope with expected sea level rises far better than previously thought.

"The original design specification of the Thames Barrier was to provide protection from a one in 1,000 year event up to 2030," the Environment Agency said in a statement. "However, improvements in modelling, and analysis of the designed allowances for sea level rise, have led this figure to be revised.

"With continued maintenance the barrier will provide protection from such an event up until 2070 based upon current climate change guidance."

The decision follows a six-year investigation by the Environment Agency.

Chris Burnham, of the agency, said: "We looked at the most recent data, from the Copenhagen conference of climate change just a few weeks ago, and we are confident the existing barrier will cope with their prediction of a one-metre rise by the end of the decade."

Mr Burnham added: "When the original barrier was built, very little was known about climate change. But our latest computer models show the barrier was overdesigned, and there is a lot of extra capacity in it. We were very impressed by how well it performed in our latest simulations."

The Environment Agency says its worst case scenario for the Thames is a rise of 2.7 metres. "We do have plans in place for this, but we believe it is very much a worst case scenario," said Mr Burnham.

A consultation on the proposals, called the Thames Estuary Plan will be launched today, and makes recommendations for protecting the capital until 2100. Dr. Paul Leinster, chief executive of the agency, said the plan will give "confidence to more than one and a quarter million people living and working in the estuary floodplain that the risk is manageable.