In autumn 2010, the Environment Agency’s Board of Directors adopted the Oxford Flood Risk Management Strategy.
Here is what we have recently published:
We have done this to set out how we arrived at the final strategy following 12 weeks of public consultation in early 2009.
Background to the strategy
Upstream and downstream, along the River Thames, there are ancient flood meadows that have protected people when the river is in flood. Over the years, building in the Oxford floodplain has removed some of that protection. Currently, more than 3,000 properties would be at risk in a 1-in-100-year flood.
It is a combination of the location, landscape and geology that makes the city so vulnerable to flooding. We need to restore the balance.
We have identified a sustainable solution to reduce the risk of flooding to people and properties in Oxford whilst conserving and enhancing the area’s very special environment.
Our plan of action
We have already:
- developed stronger links with local communities and partners by introducing short term flood risk measures following the summer floods of 2007.
- improved protection for more than 90 properties at risk from frequent flooding.
- removed silt and overgrown vegetation along stretches of the Bulstake Stream, Hinksey Stream, Hinksey Drain and Seacourt Stream over the past two years.
- made engineering improvements on the city’s river system.
- provided demountable flood barriers for Osney Island and Hinksey Park.
- completed a multi-agency flood plan with our partners to provide a co-ordinated response to future flood events.
In the future we plan to:
- install raised flood defences as part of a local flood scheme in Wolvercote in north Oxford.
- help householders to protect their property from flooding.
- improve watercourse maintenance through de-silting and vegetation clearance.
- replace assets as they reach the end of their useful life.
- improve the flood protection to more than 1,600 properties in Oxford to a 1 in 75 year standard, if the predicted effects of climate change materialise.
- provide environmental enhancements in the wider study area to include creation of new habitat.
We will regularly review the strategy to ensure that we monitor flood predictions in and around Oxford. This work will help us observe the effects of climate change.
We will plan for a conveyance channel around the west and south of Oxford, if the reviews recommend it. We also have plans ready for upstream flood storage, if needed.
Our key documents
