We have ‘A letter from the Oxford Flood Alliance (OFA)’ in the Autumn 2017 Oxford City ‘Flood Update’ which you may have received. In case you wondered why there was no comment by us on the planning application to extend Seacourt Park and Ride, we did include such comment in our letter but it was not published. It read as follows:

Seacourt Park & Ride

We have opposed the application by Oxford City Council to extend this P&R into the flood plain. The present application does not, in our view, show that flood risk will not be increased. We believe that a revised application will be advertised in the not too distant future and we will scrutinise this with care.

Revisions to the application have since appeared. You can find the application by going to https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20066/planning_applications/328/view_and_comment_on_planning_applications and searching for Seacourt. Ref. No. is 16/02745/CT3. The closing date for comments is 4 October 2017.

We are consulting with Oxford MPs Anneliese Dodds and Layla Moran on this. We believe that if this is allowed to go ahead in the functional floodplain, and being (we believe) contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), it would set a most dangerous national precedent.