MP brokers meeting to help improve river management

A ROUND table discussion was held in Parliament to support a trade association in its mission to improve navigation, safety and infrastructure on the Upper Thames.

Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo hosted senior officials from the Environment Agency, representatives from British Marine’s London and Thames Valley Association and its Passenger Boat Association, and Lib-Dem non-tidal River Thames MPs, including Sir Ed Davey on Tuesday last week.

He wants to create a collaborative way of working with the Environment Agency, local businesses and the wider industry.

Jonathan Hobbs, the managing director of Hobbs of Henley, a committee member of the Thames Valley Association, joined the meeting in London.

Members asked for a non-tidal River Thames works plan to be produced, detailing the prioritisation of works to be undertaken over the next six months, including timelines for completion.

British Marine believe there is a shortfall in the capital budget of £3m with 14 projects identified in the Thames area.

This followed the annual inspection of the River Thames between Reading and Hurley from October 8 to 23.

During the inspection, which was revived by Mr Hobbs, representatives from the Environment Agency, British Marine and the marine trade took part in a trip on board Hibernia.

It identified issues such as abandoned and unlicensed boats, broken equipment, bad signage, overhanging trees and general debris.

Mr Hobbs said his business is impacted by poor management of high river levels and damage to infrastructure, such as moorings, landing stages and jetties from flooding.

He said: “The river is all-consuming for us — it’s pollution, flooding and tourism.

“Badly managed river levels can affect us and prevent us from sailing. We’ve even had landing stages and jetties destroyed in floods. Not to mention damage to our buildings, where we had to invest in a £10,000 flood defence.

“Yes, the Environment Agency is holding its hands up and saying they’re at an all-time low but we want them to improve things.”

Mr Hobbs said that the results of inspections need to be published in a timely manner with the required actions identified and agreed in a written and clear plan, so the agency can be held to account and performance measured.

He said: “We’re having meetings that are constructive and we feel like we’re getting somewhere, getting traction and good responses but it’s not enough.

“We reckon the agency get £18m a year but needs another £100m to put everything right.”

During the meeting, concerns were raised about the low number of lock- and weir-keepers for the coming winter. It is expected that 67 new staff and 13 relief staff will be in place for the start of the 2026 season.

Mr Hobbs said: “I know the agency is promising to recruit in time for the summer season but, if there is an abnormal rain event this winter, like we’ve had in the last couple of years, it could be devastating.

“I feel sorry for the lock- and weir-keepers who have to cover three or four during one of those events, ensuring water levels are kept safe.”

Mr Hobbs said an hour-long meeting between Phil Duffy, the chief executive of the Environment Agency and British Marine in August was “brisk and disappointing”.

He said: “I was disappointed because he said he was only interested in big ticket items over £1m. A lot of small wins add up to a bigger win.”

Setting out service standards, such as manning locks, was promised to British Marine members by Andrew Pearce, deputy director of asset management systems and navigation at the agency in October 2024 but no service-level agreement has been produced. Mr Hobbs said: “There was an unprecedented number of lock breakdowns last summer and, with our hire boats and passenger boats out doing river trips, we need the locks working with spares ready to be installed, should one break down.

“With the lack of lock-keepers on duty, more inexperienced people are using the locks without assisted passage to the keeper, who has self-service power, therefore breaking or jamming the lock.”

He added: “The Environment Agency is wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds annually due to inefficient operation and how the framework is allowed to be implemented uncompetitively, therefore not delivering value for the taxpayers’ money.”

“What we want is a commitment to a standard level of service that will be in place for certain in April for all river users to benefit from an improved service and return on investment.”

Mr van Mierlo has now written to the Environment Agency asking for an overview of the total cost of repairs to better understand the challenges it faces.

He said: “It was a really good session. One of the key areas of discussion was investments into infrastructure, which is in a generally poor state as the budget, which is set by Defra, is inadequate to support the level of maintenance we require.

“Unfortunately, Defra is seen as a target and has been done bad by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. These overall cuts are extremely short-sighted, given the role they have in the rural economy.

“The message was clear. The agency needs to be working much more closely with local stakeholders, including the boating sector, to improve services and ensure that the river economy remains an asset for areas like Henley.”