New river partnership to share expertise and build protection

A NEW river partnership has been set up to protect a stretch of the Thames in Buckinghamshire.

Councillor Mark Turner, who represents the Chiltern villages, suggested a group be set up after a decision was made to discontinue the Little Marlow Sewage Treatment Works liaison committee.

He said its closure has left a “clear gap in oversight” and partnership in protecting the stretch of the Thames near Fawley, Hambleden, Medmenham and Bourne End.

He contacted the villages’ parish councils to focus on a liaison partnership with Thames Water and the Environment Agency for community improvements.

Knowledge will be shared with river action groups, including Friends of the Thames group in Henley and Thames21, an environmental charity. Cllr Turner said: “There has not been proper governance in terms of the parish councils along the river between Henley and Bourne End.

“It has been slightly underrepresented and this will help if there has been an issue on one of the parish councils who either have a problem with erosion or broken bridges and issues like that.

“We want to work with the Environment Agency and Thames Water because a lot of sewage releases are done through permits so, if you want to tighten up on that, you have to tighten up on the national legislation, not just shout at Thames Water. There are then the releases of sewage spills where they’e not authorised within permits which tend to happen when the weather is bad.

“We need to try and work with them to find out what needs doing and then the pressure needs to be put on to our MPs to make change.”