16-Jun-2006
- The Environment Agency has used a modern solution
to solve a historical problem - with a little
help from its friends.
Thanks to close cooperation
between Environment Agency engineers and Islip
Parish Council in Oxfordshire, the walkway of
Islip Weir, across the River Ray, has been opened
up as a bridge for members of the public.
It now forms one of the main
crossing routes for a 1.5-mile walk created by
the parish council to celebrate the birth of Edward
the Confessor, who was born in Islip in 1005.
Part of the walk traces the probable route taken
by quarrymen in loading Islip stone on to barges
for transport to London for use in the construction
of King Edward’s new Abbey at Westminster in the
11th century.
Geoff Bell, an Area Flood Risk
Manager at the Environment Agency, said: "I
would like to thank the parish council and the
people of Islip for teaching us a lesson.
"When we first heard about
the calls for a crossing here we were concerned,
as we did not want to put people in unnecessary
danger or compromise the function of the weir,
which is to control floodwater.
"But through discussion
between ourselves and the parish council, and
modification of the design of the weir, we have
both got what we want."
To open the bridge up to the
public, engineers had to include mesh panels to
the hand railings, install a stile to prevent
livestock from crossing it and fence off operational
areas while still allowing easy access for engineers.
The parish council, with the
help of villagers, agreed to pay the £8,000
cost of modifications to the weir which the Environment
Agency could not justify as part of the flood
risk management budget.
John Sargeant, chairman of the
parish council, said: "This project was made
possible through a joint venture by the parish
council and the Environment Agency to establish
access over the River Ray, and the weir was modified
to provide a safe crossing.
"Over 70 parishioners attended
the opening, along with representatives of the
Environment Agency, and the Trust for Oxfordshire’s
Environment, which also helped to finance the
project and to which we are very grateful.
"All the walkers at the
opening ceremony were also refreshed by a glass
of wine donated by Islip’s Red Lion pub."
Geoff Bell added: "I want
to thank those who provided this money for helping
to pay for these modifications, and I hope that
the cooperation and spirit of this project is
something which will act as a role model for the
rest of the country."
Ends
Notes for editors
Environment Agency news releases,
both national and regional, can be found on its
web site: www.environment-agency.gov.uk
National Press Office
