Written Question·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·UIN 112048

River Thames: Owner Occupation

Tabled: 9 February 2026
Answered: 13 February 2026

Question

Ben Coleman

LabourChelsea and Fulham

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Environment Agency on it registering property owners along the tidal Thames as riparian owners where legal evidence of ownership does not exist

Answer

Emma Hardy
The Environment Agency does not register landowners in London as riparian owners. A landowner’s responsibility for a tidal flood defence arises under the Metropolis Management (Thames River Prevention of Floods) Amendment Act 1879, which requires flood de...

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