Residents of Earl Street in West Oxford are to receive additional flood protection under a small grants scheme run by Oxfordshire County Council. The grant of £600 will pay for a small petrol/diesel mobile pump to be deployed as required in a rear garden into which flood water flows from the gardens to the north. This will reduce the risk of ingress of water into properties on the western side of Earl Street, comprising 34 terraced houses and 1 ground floor flat. A sump is already in place in the garden where the pump will be deployed.

The grant application was made by Nick Hills, an OFA Steering Group member, via the Earl Street Residents Association (ESRA). The association is working in partnership with the City Council who will administer the funds.

The ESRA was set up in 2017 to secure funding for a large mobile pump from Scottish and Southern Energy Network’s Community Resilience Fund. The residents association was later successful in winning grants from the City Council to install sumps in three gardens in the street and the pumps to go in them. 

Nick Hills said: ‘This additional pump will provide extra protection and reassurance to Earl Street residents during a flood. We are grateful to Cllr Susanna Pressel for making us aware of the opportunity to apply for this funding, and for the support of the County and City Councils.’