Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures

Map showing study area the River Thames and surrounding area including Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor

Project update

In late 2024, we held a series of public events across the local area to present the proposed shortlisted options to reduce flood risk and set out the process and timeline for the next phases of work. We had committed to provide the community with an update on our recommendations for the proposed flood risk reduction scheme in early Summer 2025.

The project team has been working to calculate the potential costs and benefits of option Purple and option Orange. We are awaiting some further key information as part of this work. We are also assessing the Government’s recent flood funding proposals to understand how they might benefit the project.

This means that we have decided to delay our planned update for the local community until later this year. We will continue our programme of community engagement as soon we are able to provide a further update on the project options.

Please continue to check this webpage for more information.


What is the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures project?

This project is being run in partnership by the Environment Agency and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, to explore ways to reduce flood risk to communities in the Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor area.

We started by looking at a long list of ways to reduce flood risk. We assessed each of these separately to see if they would be practical and helpful in reducing flood risk. We found 2 options that we will continue to investigate further. These are flood walls and embankments, which we are referring to as option Purple and a flood relief channel which we are referring to as option Orange. We are also exploring resilience measures including, but not limited to, Property Flood Resilience measures.

Please use the links below to find out more about the scheme.

You can also learn about the scheme by watching our video:



Community Liaison Group

We have set up a Community Liaison Group to provide a link to local communities, with the first meeting held in February 2024. The group is formed from representatives of the local communities within the study area who came forward at the November 2023 drop-ins. If you would like to know more about the Community Liaison Group, or have other questions, please contact us at THM.Schemes@environment-agency.gov.uk.




The Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme

Although the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures project is a stand alone scheme, it may be helpful to know about other schemes in your area. One of the most prominent locally is the Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme, of which the Jubilee Flood Relief Channel is part.

The Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme is made up of a combination of different elements in to reduce flood risk in the area. These include

  • Cookham - flood walls, flood gates and earth embankments
  • North Maidenhead - flood walls and an earth embankment
  • The Jubilee Flood Relief Channel

These were designed to work together to reduce the risk of flooding to approximately 3,000 properties in Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton. The Jubilee Flood Relief Channel is not designed to reduce flood risk to communities upstream or downstream of the scheme. It does not adversely impact communities downstream.

To find out more about the scheme, please visit the Jubilee Flood Relief Channel website.

Project update

In late 2024, we held a series of public events across the local area to present the proposed shortlisted options to reduce flood risk and set out the process and timeline for the next phases of work. We had committed to provide the community with an update on our recommendations for the proposed flood risk reduction scheme in early Summer 2025.

The project team has been working to calculate the potential costs and benefits of option Purple and option Orange. We are awaiting some further key information as part of this work. We are also assessing the Government’s recent flood funding proposals to understand how they might benefit the project.

This means that we have decided to delay our planned update for the local community until later this year. We will continue our programme of community engagement as soon we are able to provide a further update on the project options.

Please continue to check this webpage for more information.


What is the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures project?

This project is being run in partnership by the Environment Agency and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, to explore ways to reduce flood risk to communities in the Datchet, Horton, Wraysbury and Old Windsor area.

We started by looking at a long list of ways to reduce flood risk. We assessed each of these separately to see if they would be practical and helpful in reducing flood risk. We found 2 options that we will continue to investigate further. These are flood walls and embankments, which we are referring to as option Purple and a flood relief channel which we are referring to as option Orange. We are also exploring resilience measures including, but not limited to, Property Flood Resilience measures.

Please use the links below to find out more about the scheme.

You can also learn about the scheme by watching our video:



Community Liaison Group

We have set up a Community Liaison Group to provide a link to local communities, with the first meeting held in February 2024. The group is formed from representatives of the local communities within the study area who came forward at the November 2023 drop-ins. If you would like to know more about the Community Liaison Group, or have other questions, please contact us at THM.Schemes@environment-agency.gov.uk.




The Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme

Although the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures project is a stand alone scheme, it may be helpful to know about other schemes in your area. One of the most prominent locally is the Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme, of which the Jubilee Flood Relief Channel is part.

The Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme is made up of a combination of different elements in to reduce flood risk in the area. These include

  • Cookham - flood walls, flood gates and earth embankments
  • North Maidenhead - flood walls and an earth embankment
  • The Jubilee Flood Relief Channel

These were designed to work together to reduce the risk of flooding to approximately 3,000 properties in Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton. The Jubilee Flood Relief Channel is not designed to reduce flood risk to communities upstream or downstream of the scheme. It does not adversely impact communities downstream.

To find out more about the scheme, please visit the Jubilee Flood Relief Channel website.

Page last updated: 12 Jun 2025, 03:13 PM