29/5/08

River lock camera plan criticised

Plans to replace lock keepers with web cameras on the River Thames have been criticised as "short-sighted".

The Environment Agency announced it is to sell 10 of its 57 properties along the river to make efficiency savings.

It is also "investigating the use of web cameras and other new technology" in a review of river management.

But campaign group Save Our Service, which is fighting the changes, said a computer could not replace the experience of a worker on site.

The lock houses to be sold are made up of one in Oxford, two in Maidenhead, five in Surrey and two in Buckinghamshire.

Under its plans a further 12 lock keeper cottages will be rented out privately as they are no longer needed for "operational reasons".

The agency said lock keepers will remain in work but some have expressed concerns that a presence will not be maintained 24 hours a day.

On its website, a spokesman for Save Our Service, said lock keeping was "a very specialised job that requires expert knowledge and skill, something that can only be gained through experience".

It added: "The Thames Lock and Weir Keepers are the guardians of the river. They read and understand her ever changing moods.

"Their presence at each lock is vital, not only as a reassurance to the general and boating public but to provide all the other services that you do not necessarily see on a day to day basis.

"They have hundreds of years worth of experience and expertise between them, something that cannot be replaced by a computer, web cam positioned on a weir, centralised office or seasonally appointed staff.

"Who is going to be held personally responsible when things go wrong? Where will this short-sightedness and naive attitude take us? Where will it end?"

Reading MP Martin Salter has criticised the agency's decision as a fundamental mistake and said he would meet lock keepers and the Environment Agency next month.