Work to give the Beverley Brook more room to flood at Barn Elms Southside, Barnes, is finished, Richmond Council said on 22 October. A section of riverbank has been adjusted so water can spill onto the open land, and a raised earth berm across the site is meant to contain it.
The council says the field will take water only in rare extreme events, when heavy rain coincides with high Thames tides. Flooding is expected to be shallow, temporary and infrequent, and the site stays open for football, dog walking and informal recreation the rest of the time.
Early twentieth-century engineering raised the bank and cut the brook off from this land. Giving some of it back is a sensible use of a playing field that should rarely flood. The test is the first big tide-and-rain event: does the berm hold the water where the council says it will?
- Richmond Council announced on 22 October 2026 that flood resilience works at Barn Elms Southside in Barnes are complete.
- A small section of riverbank has been adjusted so water can flow onto the land, and a raised earth berm across the site will contain floodwater.
- The site will store water only in rare extreme events when heavy rain coincides with high Thames tides.
- Flooding is expected to be shallow, temporary and infrequent; the site otherwise stays open for football, dog walking and informal recreation.
- Early twentieth-century engineering raised the riverbank and separated the brook from its floodplain.
Every factual claim in this story is linked to the evidence behind it. Where the newsroom has added judgement or framing, it is listed separately. Sources accessed 24 October 2026.
- www.richmond.gov.uk/news/news_october_2026/flood_resilience_works_completed_at_b (Official council announcement)
Claim by claim (5 facts, 1 editorial judgements)
- Richmond Council announced on 22 October 2026 that flood resilience works at Barn Elms Southside in Barnes are complete. — Official council announcement, 2026-10-22“Work to help reduce flood risk at Barn Elms Southside in Barnes is now complete.”
- A small section of riverbank has been adjusted so water can flow onto the land, and a raised earth berm across the site will contain floodwater. — Official council announcement, 2026-10-22“a small section of the riverbank has been adjusted so that water can temporarily flow onto the open land at Barn Elms. A raised bank of earth, known as a berm, has been created across the site”
- The site will store water only in rare extreme events when heavy rain coincides with high Thames tides. — Official council announcement, 2026-10-22“will only store water during rare extreme weather events, when heavy rainfall coincides with high tides in the River Thames”
- Flooding is expected to be shallow, temporary and infrequent; the site otherwise stays open for football, dog walking and informal recreation. — Official council announcement, 2026-10-22“expected to be shallow, temporary and infrequent. At all other times, Barn Elms Southside will remain available for public use, including football, dog walking and informal recreation.”
- Early twentieth-century engineering raised the riverbank and separated the brook from its floodplain. — Official council announcement, 2026-10-22“engineering works in the early twentieth century raised the riverbank, separating the brook from this area”
- Judgement: Returning part of a mostly dry playing field to the brook is a sensible use of the land; the real test is the first major tide-and-rain event.
Photograph: Doyle of London, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · licence
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