The Public Inquiry into the Compulsory Purchase Order for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme opened on Tuesday 14 November at the King’s Centre on Osney Mead. It will run for approximately five weeks, and is open to the public.

A Compulsory Purchase Order Inquiry is a normal part of many large developments that stretch over multiple parcels of land. The purpose of the process is to ensure that property owners’ rights are considered carefully. The case is determined by an independent Inspector, appointed from the Planning Inspectorate. In coming to their decision, the Inspector judges whether or not there is a compelling case in the public interest, and whether there has been enough engagement with landowners to show that the CPO is being used as a last resort.

The Inspector also considers whether there is any impediment to the scheme going ahead: this matters because, once a CPO has been confirmed, a scheme should be quickly implemented so that people who have been deprived of their land are not left ‘in limbo’ for a long (or even indefinite) period of time. For this reason, Compulsory Purchase Orders often take place in tandem with planning permission applications, even though the CPO Inquiry process is entirely separate to the planning application for OFAS, which will be determined by Oxfordshire County Council.

Day One saw the different parties making their opening statements: The Environment Agency (as proposer of the scheme), the Oxford Preservation Trust, and the Ferry Hinksey Trust and the Oxford Flood and Environment Group.

The first week of the Inquiry has seen the Environment Agency experts explain the scheme in minute detail, showing how it was designed, how it will work given the hydrology of the area, how it is being funded, and how discussions with landowners have progressed. The team also covered the benefits, the ongoing maintenance required, the impacts on highways, compliance with planning policy, the impacts on the environment, landscape, and public access, and all the ramifications of the construction of the scheme.

Members of the public are able to ask questions of each expert after hearing their evidence, and the Inspector also asks her own questions.

On Thursday, members of the public in support of the scheme were heard. These included Andrew Down and Cllr Bethia Thomas from the Vale of the White Horse District Council, Cllr Nigel Chapman from Oxford City Council, and Bob Price, former leader of Oxford City Council. These speakers pointed out the unique opportunity offered by the scheme to tackle an expensive and complicated problem affecting the entire region, and the high cost-benefit ratio.

Members of the Oxford Flood Alliance spoke about their experiences of flooding in their own areas of Oxford. Adrian Porter recounted his experiences of being flooded at night with a young family and spending 6 months in alternative accommodation. John Mastroddi, part of whose garden will be compulsorily purchased, gave the perspective from Kennington, where residents worked together to prevent floodwater from being washed into neighbouring houses. Simon Collings described the flooding of his own house and others on Osney Island, and the work that is ongoing with the EA and other organisations to ensure that the biodiversity impacts of the Scheme are mitigated. Finally, Nick Hills told the story of residents of Earl Street and how he had been called up on holiday by Cllr Susannah Pressell, the Lord Mayor at the time, to be told that the street, and his own house, was flooding. He then asked some neighbours to lift his furniture as best they could. Over the last two decades, he has led the residents of Earl Street in protecting themselves from flood risk, including working with the council to have a bund installed at the top of the street and securing investment for a community-owned pump.

The members of the Flood Alliance demonstrated their commitment to working together to reduce flood risk across Oxford, not just in their own neighbourhoods. They showed how they have engaged with an extremely large number of local authorities, statutory undertakers, regional partners, national organisations, and most of all the general public and Oxford’s residents over the years to achieve this goal.

Next week will see the submissions and witnesses on behalf of the Oxford Preservation Trust, opposing the scheme on environmental and planning grounds. The Inquiry will open on Tuesday at 9.30am.