‘You learn to live with the river’

THE worst flooding in seven years hit the Henley area this week.

Low-lying land was covered in water after the River Thames and River Loddon burst their banks following days of heavy rain that came a week after snowfall.

Some of the worst-hit areas included Wargave, where the water was waist deep in places and some houses were only accessible by boat, and Shiplake, where gardens and nearby fields were submerged.

Lash Brook overflowed and residents wore wellingtons in order to leave their homes. This is the area where Taylor Wimpey is planning to pump drainage water from its Regency Place development of 95 homes in Reading Road against the wishes of villagers.

The Environment Agency warned that properties in both villages were at risk of flooding.

Surface water also caused disruption in Sonning where Thames Street was shut between High Street and Spring Lane, preventing drivers crossing the village’s historic bridge.

In Henley, Mill and Marsh Meadows were both covered in water and homes on Rod Eyot were partially under water.

The towpath alongside Hobbs of Henley was submerged.

Managing director Jonathan Hobbs said it was the worst flooding he had seen since 2014, although the water had not reached the same levels.

He said: “Luckily, Henley is quite well designed for flooding. It’s not like some towns where you have housing right up to the riverbank.

“It’s quite spectacular to look out from Henley Bridge and see water covering the meadows but a lot of the buildings, including ours, are safe for now. The water is lapping at the steps of the office but it hasn’t got in yet.”

In Loddon Drive, a private road in Wargrave, the water was so deep that residents had to wear waders in order to get out of their homes and remain dry.

However, the houses in the street are all raised off the ground as the area frequently floods when the Loddon bursts its banks. Gavin Dunbar, who has lived there with his wife Jean since 1986, said: “We are used to it.”

Speaking on Tuesday, he said: “I would rate it as a medium to high flood at the moment. It has got a way to go before it reaches the level of 2014 but it is sufficient to be quite inconvenient.

“When people realise the water is coming they take their cars and park them at the station and they then get their fishing waders on to get from their house to the station.

“When you go out in your waders, you have to be very careful in some places because there is a cross stream and it is not like walking through a lake.

“There is a lot of movement in the water, so you can’t just get into a boat and paddle — you would end up in the bushes.

“I hope we have passed the worst of it. It looks fairly steady and we are hoping it has peaked.”

Edward Marshall, who has lived in Loddon Drive for 60 years, said: “I would describe this as a medium flood.

“The Loddon is still 15in below the 2014 flood level and we don’t want one of those again. We had the snow and that melted, followed by two nights of heavy rain that have culminated in this.

“The fact that the river is moving along at a good pace should be good news and a sign that it’s going down.”

Mr Marshall, who is the chairman of the local rail user group, said residents were well prepared but still a little anxious.

He said: “It is quite unnerving, even for people like me who grew up here. You spend a hell of a lot of time staring at steps to see if the height changes. You just have to wait it out.

“We had flooding last year but before that we had four years of absolutely none.”

Jane Foddy, a PR consultant who lives in the area with her husband John, said: “The people down here are all geared up for it and get on with it.

“We are very fortunate that our house doesn’t have too much of a problem because we are on a bit of a high point and the water is nowhere near as high as it has been in the past.

“It’s not like we are being particularly restricted. We don’t go out when it’s like this and with the lockdown we aren’t exactly going anywhere anyway. We all help each other and look out for the other residents. We’ve got people with vehicles that can drive through the water if people need lifts for emergencies.”

In Henley, Mill Lane was partially flooded and a postman had water up to his knees when delivering mail. Kristie Shemilt, who lives in the lane with her husband Mark, said: “Every now and then we have flooding but we are used to it. Our house is built on stilts so we can still get in and out.”

The car park at the Flowing Spring pub in Playhatch was under water. This time last year, it was covered in 2ft 6in of water but in 2014 the level was almost 3ft and came into the pub so that it required £50,000 of improvements afterwards.

Nick Willson, who runs the pub with his wife Hazel Lucas, said: “It’s the same as usual — the water is pretty high but not as high as it has been.

“We continue to do takeaways as we can still get round to the front of the pub on Henley Road. It’s business as usual — we’ve been here long enough to deal with it. The Environment Agency told us on Monday that it won’t be as bad as 2014 when the water came into the building.

“The only impact is that with Sonning being closed, it cuts off some of our customers from south of the river. A lot of them can still come through Henley and Reading but it’s not easy so we will probably lose some trade.

“It’s another challenge on top of the lockdown but we are determined to keep going.”

Sally Hughes, managing and artistic director of The Mill at Sonning theatre, said the building was fine and the water had only reached the steps.

She added: “It looks rather dramatic but we’ve had no problems. which is good. We have no audiences anyway. 

“I think whoever built the theatre all those years ago knew what they were doing — it can get a bit damp but never really floods. You do learn to live with the river.” 

The Environment Agency said river levels would remain high over the next few days.

The weather forecast is for light rain tomorrow (Saturday) but there could be more snow over the next few days.

• Additional reporting by James Burton and Luke Adams.