To Ms Gill Oliver, Business Correspondent and Mr Peter Hughes, Environment Correspondent, Oxford Times and Oxford Mail.
Dear Ms Oliver and Mr Hughes,
My house is one of the homes south of the Botley Road identified by past events and recent surveys as likely to be inundated by the next serious flood. I have therefore a personal interest in the success of the Environment Agency’s plan to create a Flood Alleviation Channel across the meadows and land between junctions with the Southern Bypass of the Botley Road and the Old Abingdon Road.
At a public meeting of concerned residents I attended on Saturday I learnt that the Agency has warned that the work it has planned will create serious traffic restriction at both junctions throughout the working day for at least three years. No thought appears to have been given to the effect of this restriction, very possibly with further road works in Oxford on the many small and major businesses on both of those roads, or the further impact on businesses in the centre of Oxford. Since this may be disastrous for many, could you both try to examine the likely result?
You will have noticed that a number of small businesses have closed in the centre of Oxford in recent years, as have Toys R Us and Homebase on the Botley Road. No floods in the past have caused major traffic disruption for more than a few weeks. This restriction over a full three years may be expected to have serious consequence for all of Oxford’s minor and major hotels, its restaurants and its tour organisers, and even such recent projects as the Westgate Centre. A number of other major businesses depending on bus and other vehicular access would be at risk of closure, with consequence loss of hundreds of jobs and rent income to Oxford. The good news is that none of this need happen.
The same meeting was informed of a technically impressive proposal by local engineer to be presented to the Council this week to create a permanent ‘gathering pond’ for floodwater at Fiddlers Island, on the farmland to the east of Binsey Lane, to carry it underground by large diameter steel pipe beyond the Old Abingdon Road junction and into the Thames. Following a direct route requiring no disturbance above ground, and driven by powerful electric pumps, the flow through this buried pipeline will greatly exceed the flow of floodwater in the Environment Agency Flood Alleviation channel moving only on a gentle natural gradient. It will do so at an estimated half the cost: with no disruption in traffic, no environment damage, no change in Oxford’s historic surrounding, with no need to remove or resite electricity pylons, electric cables, or gas pipelines, no need to interfere at all with the traffic.
I ask you both to examine the very different costs and consequences of these two plans and report them to your readers. You may help to save innumerable small business owners from failing, safeguard hundreds of jobs, and all of Oxford will remember the Oxford Times and Mail with gratitude and with trust.
Sincerely, Colin Hannaford.
Marlborough Court, Oxford