The River Roding Project

Image showing the locations of the construction works

The Environment Agency are constructing a £28 million flood storage area to reduce the risk of flooding to around 1,500 properties, businesses and infrastructure in Woodford and Ilford.

Get involved

We are currently in the construction phase of the project and will be engaging with residents affected by the works and the communities who benefit from this project further downstream. We will be adding updates to the news feed, sharing information and updates on the construction progress as well as announcing any upcoming public events. We will also be running polls and surveys to capture your views and feedback.

Please register and subscribe to the site or email us to make sure you're on our project mailing list.

We will share new information on this page and add new photographs at least every three months.

Project Scope

The project includes building a flood storage area on the River Roding, upstream of the M25, at Shonks Mill Bridge. The flood storage area will allow the river to flow naturally most of the time, however in times of high flows, water will build up and be stored behind the earth embankment creating a temporary reservoir, reducing the risk of flooding downstream. This will then drain naturally back into the river as flows reduce.

The project also includes refurbishing a flood embankment downstream in Woodford to withstand the estimated impacts of climate change. This element of the work is now complete.



Image showing the locations of the construction works

The Environment Agency are constructing a £28 million flood storage area to reduce the risk of flooding to around 1,500 properties, businesses and infrastructure in Woodford and Ilford.

Get involved

We are currently in the construction phase of the project and will be engaging with residents affected by the works and the communities who benefit from this project further downstream. We will be adding updates to the news feed, sharing information and updates on the construction progress as well as announcing any upcoming public events. We will also be running polls and surveys to capture your views and feedback.

Please register and subscribe to the site or email us to make sure you're on our project mailing list.

We will share new information on this page and add new photographs at least every three months.

Project Scope

The project includes building a flood storage area on the River Roding, upstream of the M25, at Shonks Mill Bridge. The flood storage area will allow the river to flow naturally most of the time, however in times of high flows, water will build up and be stored behind the earth embankment creating a temporary reservoir, reducing the risk of flooding downstream. This will then drain naturally back into the river as flows reduce.

The project also includes refurbishing a flood embankment downstream in Woodford to withstand the estimated impacts of climate change. This element of the work is now complete.



  • Diverting the river - a major project milestone - 11 September 2025

    supporting image

    On 11 September 2025 the project reached a major milestone. We removed an earth bund at the upstream end of the new river channel which allowed the river to flow through the new channel and control structure for the first time.

    We achieved this by:

    • regrading the river banks downstream of the new control structure.
    • carrying out a fish rescue on the (now old) Roding channel to ensure that no fish were left stranded when the flows were diverted to the new channel.
    • putting in an earth bund on the (now old) Roding channel to stop the flow of water.
    • removing an earth bund at the upstream end of the new river channel to enable the water to flow down the new channel and into the wetland for the first time.

    This marks a major milestone for the project as the river being diverted through the control structure enables construction of the whole of the earth embankment. The embankment will cross over the old Roding channel to meet the control structure.

    Whilst the river is now flowing through the control structure on its new route, it is important to note that the project does not provide flood risk benefit to communities yet. This is because elements of the control structure still need to be completed once the embankment is in place - at which point it will be able to impound (hold back) water.

    To see photos of the river diversion taking place click here: Photo Gallery | The River Roding Project | Engage Environment Agency

Page last updated: 06 Nov 2025, 03:11 PM