Oxford needs a better Flood Scheme
Oxford Town Hall Assembly Rooms Monday April 17th 7 p.m.
This meeting will be available on zoom which will be active from 6.45 p.m.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89605198651?pwd=TmN6emlPYzJzenhSQlBwOGg0eEpFUT09
The following press release gives details of the meeting.
Hinksey and Osney Environment Group
Oxford Flood and Environment Group
Press release April 2023
Oxford, UK, deserves a better flood scheme
A Public Meeting in the Assembly Room at Oxford Town Hall at 7pm on 17 April will give Oxford a chance to debate publicly the pros and cons of an innovative flood alleviation scheme.
The Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme (OFAS) proposes to divert flood water away from central Oxford via an agriculturally productive natural floodplain. The meeting will outline the principles of good environmental management, and set these in microcosm against our image, where one third of the land owned by the Ferry Hinksey Charitable Trust will be stripped, lowered and the trees removed, while elsewhere two man-made blockages are largely retained.
Public reactions might be different if the Scheme was explaining its design, but OFAS say the concept is untested on this scale, the 2018 flow modelling was limited by available computing power, and their attempts to remedy this have been unsuccessful. Meanwhile four requests from the planning authority concerning a less damaging alternative have received minimal responses, and the environmental groups will be asking for these requests to be restated.
The conclusion is that Oxford is unnecessarily losing natural meadowland in one area, and retaining manmade obstructions elsewhere, all based on modelling described as `unsuccessful'.
This meeting might be the last opportunity to discuss the scheme publicly before a decision by the planning authority.
Sources
The OFAS planning application including Regulation 25 letter and Technical Note responses can be seen at https://myeplanning.oxfordshire.gov.uk/Planning/Display/MW.0027/22
- Hinksey and Osney Environment Group https://hinkseyandosney.org/
- Oxford Flood and Environment Group https://www.oxfordfloodandenvironmentgroup.com/
Quotes:
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, Chair of Trustees of Ferry Hinksey Charitable Trust said: The Trustees are in favour of a flood scheme for Oxford that uses a tried and tested design. Contact 07808297043
Tim O’Hara, North Hinksey Resident said: I’m concerned with the environmental damage that the flood channel will do, and the disruption it will cause during construction, especially as the Environment Agency’s own calculations show it adds little flood protection to the flood alleviation scheme as a whole.
Dr Jonathan Madden said: `If the natural landscape needs additional flow capacity it can be provided by a conventional pumped pipeline, which gives the bonus of allowing water to be moved efficiently past the city before it becomes a damaging flood. jonmadden@yahoo.com
Brian Durham, South Oxford floodplain resident said: South Oxford needs a tried and tested design exploiting the natural flood plain and creating efficient openings in man-made obstructions, capable of being delivered without the delay of a public inquiry. (mobile 07772 234914)