QWAG’s pivotal role in the River Quaggy Flood Alleviation Scheme has been highlighted again.

Two months ago the story of the Flood Alleviation Scheme was the subject of Radio 4’s prestigious Nature programme. Today, a national newspaper – the Daily Telegraph – covers the same story, albeit only in the regional London Property section.

The article is based on an interview with QWAG Chair Ray Manchester. And although we would have liked a greater emphasis placed on the fact that QWAG proposed and championed the scheme, it is a more balanced synopsis than that given in some other recent publications, which have diminished or even expunged QWAG’s role.

The wildflower meadows are a stunning summer feature of Sutcliffe Park

It’s a shame then that the article erroneously states that the Quaggy (and the Ravensbourne) are “mainly underground” because, as we know, the Quaggy winds its way through a surprising number of green spaces – often channelised but rarely culverted. In fact all the major southern tributaries of the Thames (with the exception of the Effra) escaped the wholesale obliteration suffered by their northern brethren, such as the Tyburn and Fleet. It is true to say however that most of the lesser streams, including almost all those that feed the Quaggy, have been largely or completely buried.

Read the full article: Nurturing nature to beat the floods.

Three years after the restoration the wildflower meadows are now a stunning summer feature of Sutcliffe Park.