Access to the Welsh Harp, also known as the Brent Reservoir, will be facilitated for the Canal & River Trust and their contractors to conduct tests on the dam wall infrastructure. The investigatory works were discussed at the Welsh Harp Joint Consultative Committee meeting on Monday 24 November 2025.
The Canal & River Trust and their contractors will be enabled access via Neasden Recreation Ground to conduct these tests. The Welsh Harp, jointly managed by Brent Council, the London Borough of Barnet, and the Canal & River Trust, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The dam wall and reservoir are the statutory responsibility of the Canal & River Trust.
Leslie Williams, LB Brent Project Officer, noted in the Welsh Harp Management Plan update that the council is enabling access for the Canal & River Trust and their contractors to conduct tests on the dam wall infrastructure. The works are expected to commence in late October / early November 2025 and continue to the end of 2025.
The Welsh Harp contributes to Brent Council's priority of a Cleaner Greener Future,
including its role in providing green space, recreation, biodiversity, flood control, and landscape enhancement. It also contributes to strategies including the:
- Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy 2021-23
- Flood Risk Management Strategy
- Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2027.
It is currently unclear what impact this access will have on public use and the environment of the SSSI.