Wherever our elected representatives get their facts from, they have a duty to get them right. Unlike Cllr Pressel, Professor Therivel has researched the impacts of OFAS in exhaustive detail.
All of the 3780 mature trees to be felled are over 15 feet, with the majority 30-50 feet. 4000 whips will be planted, the vast majority of which will die before maturity. The EAs stubborn insistence on a vast channel and their multiple failures to provide adequate information on the resulting biodiversity loss is holding up the planning decision, not the public enquiry. All of Hinksey Meadow will be affected by lowering the water table. 0.8% additional housing protection from the channel comes from the EA’s own cost-benefit figures.
We can all agree with Cllr Pressel that flooding is a huge problem, which is why, in the face of climate change, we need the best possible solution delivered quickly.
Dr Rod Chalk. North Hinksey Village in the Oxford Times 29/2/2024