Welcome to the TE2100 High Level Options (HLO) online consultation

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TE2100 is producing a flood risk management plan for the rest of the century. The plan will undergo a rigorous assessment and appraisal of its ability to reduce flood risk, including the economic cost and the social and environmental impacts. Our project started in 2002 and will run until 2010. We are seeking your views at each stage of the project. Find out more about the TE2100 project.

The TE2100 High Level Options (HLO) online consultation is now closed

Thank you to all who took part. The summary feedback report for the HLO online consultation is now available to download.

As the site contains much useful background information you will still be able to access the consultation pages, however we cannot guarantee that any comments or changes made to submissions after the closure date can be taken into consideration at this stage of the project. All comments made before the closure date have been collated and will form part of our assessment and appraisal to inform the development of the final plan.

Our final plan will be out for consultation in Spring 2009 and we look forward to your continued participation.

If you wish to contact the project you can still do so at TE2100@environment-agency.gov.uk

Why are we seeking your views?

There are many ways to reduce flood risk so we want you to help identify the options with the least impact on people and the environment. We also want you to tell us about other benefits for communities and the environment that could be achieved alongside our primary goal of reducing flood risk.

It won't be possible to satisfy all the varied and competing interests in the estuary and its floodplain, but by telling us what you think, we can produce a plan that includes, as far as possible, the needs and aspirations of everybody. Where opinions conflict with the objectives of the project or legal requirements, and we can't incorporate your views, we will explain why.

Where are we now?

Stage One, 2006: Early Conceptual Options (ECO)Consultation. We asked you about our objectives and how the measures to reduce flood risk could affect you or your environment. This consultation has finished.

Stage Two, 2007-08: This High Level Options (HLO) Consultation. We now want your views on:

the future direction for flood risk management in the Thames Estuary
what needs to be done to achieve this direction in your local area.

Your views from this current consultation will help develop the draft final plan due at the end of 2008.

Stage Three, 2009: Draft Plan Consultation. We will ask you about the draft final plan following further assessment and appraisal.

What we want from you

We are now at the HLO Stage and we want you to help shape the rest of the plan. We want your views on:

Our recommended flood management policies. These set the strategic direction for flood management.
The different options to deliver these policies over a range of different climate change futures.

The policies

To put together an estuary-wide plan we need to consider how the Estuary behaves as a whole but also what is the best approach locally. We have divided the Estuary into 23 Policy Management Units (PMU) based on where the flood water would flow and the character of the local area. We have assessed each area and chosen our preferred future direction of flood management, this is what we call a policy. We have appraised the social, economic and environmental impact of these policies. We now need to understand how the policies would influence the work or long-term plans of your organisation and/or your relationship with the Thames Estuary and its floodplain. We also want to know how you or your organisation could help us put these policies into practice.

The options

The actions which are taken to implement the policies are known as options. Some options are in our control such as closing the Thames Barrier, but others will need to be carried out in partnership with others such as locating and designing new development. We have investigated a range of options which could manage and reduce flood risk throughout the century, based on four different climate change futures. We are beginning to appraise the social, environmental and economic impacts of these options. We now need to understand the implications of these options on you and your organisation. We can take this into account when we consider what action will be needed when and where to manage flood risk through the century.

How the policies and options manage the problem

The scale and nature of the flood management problem varies greatly across the Thames Estuary depending on: whether the area is already protected by walls or flood barriers; significant tributaries or freshwater flows into the Estuary; the lie of the land - high, low, urban, natural; and whether there are vulnerable communities or assets like the underground system or local drainage network.

Based on local conditions, we have divided the Thames Estuary into 5 principal zones that require different options to deliver the local policies:

Options for West London recognise that defence levels are lower in places and freshwater inflows can be high. Although the Thames Barrier currently helps prevent freshwater as well as tidal flooding this may not be possible in the future. We must find other ways of managing the freshwater flooding.
Options for Central London reflect the high standard of tidal defence provided by the Thames Barrier and the tidal flood walls.
Options for Straddling the Thames Barrier cover two important areas that straddle the Thames Barrier and are exposed to very different levels of flood risk. Upstream is protected by the Barrier, whilst downstream has flood defences holding back an extra 2.5 to 3 metres of water.
Options for the Middle Estuary seek to identify opportunities and maximise the benefits of temporary tidal flood storage. Our modelling shows this area to be the best at reducing water levels.
Options for the Lower Estuary reflect the low-lying nature of this area and its current land use.

Tell us what you think

During Stage One we asked you about our Early Conceptual Options (online consultation 8 May to 14 July 2006). You told us about our objectives and how the measures to reduce flood risk could affect you or your environment. 214 people registered an interest and 96 of these submitted responses. We would like to thank everyone for this. As far as was possible, your responses were included in the proposals we are consulting upon now. To see how we have taken your responses into account please contact the TE2100 team for a copy of our ECO Online Consultation report.

Now we have moved on and we want you to tell us what you think about our preferred policy for the local areas, and the range of options that could achieve this policy.