Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2026 to question 105592 on River Great Ouse: Dredging, for what reason the river has not been dredged since the 1970s and 1980s.

Since the 1980s, the Environment Agency’s (EA) maintenance works have been limited to targeted desilting at specific locations, such as locks, outfalls and gauging stations, to maintain navigation and asset functionality.

Sections of the Ely Ouse, from Popes Corner to Littleport, were desilted between 1991 and 1998, and small-scale shoal removals have occurred intermittently near structures such as Denver and Salters Lode Locks in Norfolk.

On the Tidal River Great Ouse, the EA undertakes desilting activities at Denver and Salters Lode Locks to maintain a navigable channel, most recently in 2025, and the EA is planning a desilting programme for 2026. The EA also removes silt which accumulates on erosion protection measures, most recently near Salters Lode in February 2025.

The EA undertakes targeted dredging where necessary along the River Great Ouse in the locations where it will either support navigation or the reduction of flood risk.