THE Government plans to increase the height of the Thames Barrier, and is even considering building a new one, as a result of the increased threat of flooding because of global warming.

It also plans to increase the height of the river walls along the length of the tidal banks to prevent the Thames from bursting.

A £4 billion project by the Environment Agency, called Planning for Flood Risk Management in the Thames Estuary, is examining how to respond to rising sea levels and increasingly stormy weather that are thought to be caused by climate change.

Agency officials have become alarmed that the barrier may not last as long as predicted when it was commissioned in 1982 because the risk of flooding appears to be increasing faster than expected.

The barrier, which cost £350 million, was built to prevent a repetition of the floods of 50 years ago today, which claimed 300 lives and made 320,000 people homeless, making it Britain’s worst peacetime disaster.

The barrier, the largest of its kind in the world, had sea-level rise built into it, and was designed to protect London until 2030. It was anticipated that it would have to close ten times a year in the first decade of the 21st century, rising to 30 closures a year by 2030. But the barrier already has to close far more frequently. In the winter of 2000-2001 it had to close 24 times, and it has closed 19 times already this winter.

Sarah Lavery, the Environment Agency’s project manager for the Thames Estuary, said: “The flood risk will increase. We have looked at the Thames Barrier, and by modification it could accommodate a 3ft 9in(1.2-metre) sea-level rise. It would be by over-rotating the major gates, and some structural improvements.”

By redesigning the barrier, the gates could be made to rotate further around than before, giving them an extra 3ft 9in of height to keep out rising waters. The Agency also predicts that the river walls will have to be raised by 1ft 8in upstream from the barrier, and by up to 3ft 2in downstream.

The project will also consider whether a new barrier is needed, although it is thought that raising the present one will suffice. “With modifications, the Thames Barrier has another 100 years of life left in it. In 100 years’ time, we may have to build a huge barrier out in the estuary by Tilbury docks or beyond,” Ms Lavery said.

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