January 8th 2004
The Prime Minister,
10 Downing Street
Dear Prime Minister,
Thank you for coming on Sunday to view the current flooding in Oxford.
We know that some properties in west and south Oxford and South Hinksey Village have been flooded in the last few days.
We have been campaigning for an effective flood alleviation scheme for Oxford for over 5 years and have been part of the current public enquiry challenging the need for Compulsory Purchase Orders on over 1000 properties.
We know that you will be wanting to take prompt action to deal with this long term problem.
We therefore need to bring to your attention that the scheme proposed by the Environment Agency is neither a prompt nor an appropriate solution.
Their proposal for a flood channel is
- Poorly conceived
- Removes 10 hectares of flood storage
- Wastes public money
- Cannot respond to future climate change
- Is objected to by 93% of local people
- Causes huge environmental Destruction, not on the EA balance sheet
- Cannot begin construction for 2-3 years
The channel is unnecessary, and destructive of at least 2000 trees and of ancient meadows and their amenity value. The channel degrades what the EA recognises as “a nationally important monument” (the existing causeway of the Old Abingdon Road) and threatens a railway embankment.
The channel will destroy 4% of an irreplaceable nationally-rare grassland which more than 5000 people have signed a petition to protect.
Removal of 40,000 lorry loads of spoil (to create the channel) moving slowly on to the A34 national trunk road would require speed restrictions of 40 mph or less and cause significant delays on an already crowded roads.
We have presented to the Public Enquiry alternatives, developed by qualified engineers, which
- though shown to be equally or more efficient in preliminary modelling have not yet been thoroughly or equally investigated by the EA on their own admission at the enquiry
- are ready to begin immediately: they require fewer CPOs nor the two-three years preliminary work required by the channel proposed by the EA design.
- cost much less public money and take far less time to construct
The CPO inquiry into the scheme ends on 26 January. We urge you to support the inspector to take the best solution in the long-term public interest.
Yours sincerely
Dr Rod Chalk, North Hinksey Village
Brian Durham, New Hinksey, Former City Archaeologist
Kevin Larkin, Construction Engineer
Dr Jonathan Madden, Hydraulic Engineer
Patricia Murphy, Osney Island, Convenor, Oxford Flood and Environment Group
Dr Sally Prime, North Hinksey Village
Professor Riki Therivel, North Hinksey Lane, Botley, Environmentalist
Nicholas Wedd, North Hinksey Village
Professor Jocelyn Wogan Browne, Osney Island
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, North Hinksey Village. Convenor Hinksey and Osney Environment Group and chair of the Ferry Hinksey Trust.
Hinksey and Osney Environment Group and Oxford Flood and Environment Group
www.hinkseyandosney.org and www.oxfordfloodandenvironmentgroup.com
also representing 5000 signatories of a petition against the channel.
Cc Layla Moran MP, Oxford West and Abingdon
The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP. Secretary of State for the Environment.