Reading West MP Martin Salter has hailed a victory for the campaign by lock-keepers wives, river users and MPs against the Environment Agency’s (EA) plans to dispose of 22 residential lock-keeper’s homes along the Thames. These plans were put on hold in June following an intervention by the then Waterways minister Phil Woolas, who came down to Cookham Lock to meet the lock-keepers for himself. The meeting was organised by Mr Salter and the Maidenhead MP Theresa May. The EA announced today that they would now retain ownership of all 52 lock houses and keep residential lock-keepers in place on each of the 45 Thames locks and weirs.

The E.A had been set to recommence their Lock House Review in the New Year but Mr. Salter mobilised Thames Valley MPs in a cross-party campaign to protect the future of residential lock keepers. Mr. Salter also wrote in October to the new Waterways Minister, Huw Irranca Davis MP to warn him that the loss of residential lock-keepers will put lives at risk and to encourage him to put pressure on the E.A to drop their plans altogether. Mr. Salter has been working with the lock keepers and their wives for the last six months and has compiled a dossier of life threatening incidents that have occurred at the Thames locks and weirs where the intervention of resident lock keepers saved lives and prevented serious injuries. At a recent meeting with the EA Mr. Salter made it clear that he would escalate the campaign against the lock house sell off and publish the dossier should the proposed disposals proceed.

Welcoming the EA’s announcement Mr Salter said:-

“This is fantastic news for everybody who cares about the future of the River Thames but especially for the lock-keepers and their campaigning wives who have been relentless and determined to force a change of heart by the Environment Agency. I pay fulsome tribute to them and to all those river users, including anglers, boaters, rowers and ramblers who gave their enthusiastic support to our campaign. I have no doubt that the weight of public opinion coupled with strong parliamentary pressure were crucial factors in achieving this outbreak of commonsense from the new regional management at the EA.”

He added:-

“I made it crystal clear in my discussions with the Environment Agency that myself and the other MPs firmly believed that public safety would have been put at risk if the removal of residential lock-keepers had been allowed to proceed. As a group of MPs we were never going to let this matter rest.”

In his October letter to the Waterways Minister, Mr. Salter said:-

“I am writing, as promised, to update you on developments over the Environment Agency’s Lock House Review which proposes to evict 22 Thames lock and weir keepers from their homes and reduce the permanent lock and weir staff from 76 to 60. These proposals have generated massive public opposition and have been considered as dangerous and short-sighted by river users, waterways professionals and by almost every Thames Valley MP”.

He continued:-

“There has been no proper assessment of the increased dangers to river users including boaters, anglers and walkers as a result of the loss of residential staff. I am currently compiling a dossier of the number of life threatening incidents which resident lock-keepers attended over the course of a year that have occurred at the 22 locks and weirs which will be unstaffed outside normal working hours. I and many other Thames Valley MPs have no doubt that, because of increased flooding and the dangerous nature of Thames weir pools, lives will be put at risk should these proposals be implemented. A resident lock-keeper can often rescue a person in the water or a boat swept onto a weir by a flood in a  matter of minutes whereas relief staff on call-out may well arrive too late to prevent a tragedy”.

Mr. Salter also pointed out that their was very little likelihood that the E.A achieving any real savings through the disposal of the 22 lock houses and that, in any case, it was wrong to be reducing the standard of service to river users at a time when their navigation budgets have been boosted by both substantial increases in government grant in aid and inflation busting 12% hike in navigation licenses.

He said:-

“The £200,000 or so of savings are fictional. No account has been taken of the amount of extra work carried out by resident lock and weir keepers which would have to be done in future by standby contractors or operational staff called out on premium rates of pay…..

On top of this, boaters on the Thames are currently paying for an inflation busting 12% hike in their navigation licenses each year for three years. To put it simply the E.A is proposing to treat their staff appallingly, to endanger river users and to charge more money for providing a worse service.”

Kim Benge of Cookham Lock said:-

“We are thrilled with the news today regarding the lock houses, much work still needs to be done but we are truly delighted with this outcome and we can’t begin to thank all the people who have supported the lock keepers and their families enough, the river Thames is a safer place today because of it.”