Emma Formoy, Project Director of the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme:
After the summer we’ve just had, memories of Oxford’s roads underwater, the railway line closed, and water damage to homes and businesses may seem in the distant past. But working on the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme I’m aware how vulnerable Oxford remains to flooding. Climate change will cause large floods to become more frequent and severe, making the problem worse. So we build climate change projections into the design of flood defences to make sure they are fit for the future. The planning application for the scheme is currently being considered by Oxfordshire County Council and we’re hopeful for a final planning decision by the end of the year. We’re pleased there’s a lot of interest in the project and naturally people are keen to know what it will mean for the local area. As with any scheme of this size there have also been some misconceptions and questions raised. So here I’d like to provide some of the facts behind our work and vision for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme, to help answer some of these big questions.
Question: Why is such a big scheme needed? Oxford has a long history of flooding. The floods of 2003, 2007 and 2013/2014 all wreaked havoc, cutting off parts of the city and causing devastation to homes and businesses. With climate change the impact of floods will increase and so any flood scheme needs to future-proof the city as best as possible, taking climate change into account. After the floods of 2007, the Environment Agency considered over 100 different options to reduce flood risk in Oxford. Ranging from non-structural such as flood warnings, to maintenance including desilting and vegetation clearance, through to large engineering interventions like raised flood defences. We listened to advice from internal specialists, consultants, flood action groups and local residents. The results are set out in the Oxford Flood Risk Management Strategy, 2009.