What do we want? Proportionate and Sensitive Flood Risk Reduction
Jonathan Madden for Hinksey and Osney Environment Group
OFAS and Osney/Hinksey is a souped up version of the Somerset Levels in 2013/14. At that time the EA opposed dredging the channels, but were subsequently persuaded to carry out alleviation work which has increased drainage flow capacity from an area below mean sea level. 100M tonnes of water over 65km2 needed to be drained more quickly. This equals 1.5m head of water - a lot.
Osney/Hinksey has a much higher population/value density, with a considerably lower flood risk, at least in terms of head of water. Public perception and concern has been raised in recent years by insurance costs and worries about climate change.
We are in favour of flood risk reduction, but in a manner that is proportionate and sensitive to the old, if not ancient, Hinksey flood plain.
Keep the channels clear
Keeping the channels clear and at the correct depth is fundamental.
The Blenheim Queen pool has just now silted up. An artificial lake, by Lancelot Brown, that started life at 1.5-2m depth in the mid 18th C, has now silted up and is due for dredging. The river Glyme deposits about 1,500 tonnes of silt per year, mostly during heavy rainfall, into the lake.
The Seacourt river is similar in size to the Glyme. It is now time for maintenance, just as it was for the Levels. Neither Somerset, nor Blenheim, required/s £100m to sustain attractive areas that have been brought about by human intervention in old landscapes. £10m is nearer the mark.
Very few works of man actually make the old world look better: the English canals are one. I suggest that the locking of the Thames Valley is another.
Our argument is that now is the time for remedial work on some very well executed ideas, so as to keep them for the future. Not wholesale bulldozing to destroy them.