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Response to Local Flood Risk Management Strategy

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Oxford Flood Alliance has responded to the consultation on the latest update to the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy for Oxfordshire. There is mush in the document which we agree with. We have made comments on four areas where we believe flood risk management practice could be strengthened:

  1. The document recognises that flood risk management cannot be delivered without the engagement of local communities. But there is no central list of community flood groups and flood wardens across the county, no regular formal engagement with this community, and it can be difficult for members of the community to secure engagement from the various agencies. This needs to improve is we are to build a network of resilient communities in Oxfordshire.
  2. Thames Water is assigned responsibilities under the strategy but based on past experience the likelihood of them failing to meet these obligations is, in our view, high. We do not believe the measures proposed in the strategy for securing Thames Water’s cooperation are strong enough.
  3. Maintenance of existing waterways is important for flood risk management. With successive cuts to its budget the Environment Agency no longer has the resources it once had and is forced to prioritise where it intervenes. In the short term more transparent communication with members of the public about priorities would help. In the longer term maintenance needs more resources.
  4. There are useful comments in the document about Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS). We are urging the local flood risk management authorities to also think about additional techniques for reducing runoff, in particular use of water catchment and reuse systems of the kind currently being proposed for two large developments in the city.

Fallen tree in Bulstake Stream reported

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Oxford Flood Alliance has alerted the Environment Agency to a fallen tree and accumulating debris which is blocking the Bulstake Stream at the Hinksey Causeway bridge near Osney Mead. This could interfere with river flows if we have flooding this winter. We’ve been told that the EA field team will be working on the Bulstake Stream towards the end of August, and have been made aware of the problem. This should be resolved as they come through the area.

OFA is also following up on maintenance issues at Weirs Mill with the EA and relevant riperian landowners.

OFA interviewed by BBC

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Simon Collings from Oxford Flood Alliance was interviewed this morning by BBC Radio Oxford. This followed the decision by Oxfordshire County Council to approve the planning application for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme. The interview lasted around 7 minutes and was broadcast live on the Sophie Law show at 7.20am.

Simon described the experience of being flooded in 2007, the formation of OFA, and the amount of work which has gone into the design of OFAS. Questioned about biodiversity, Simon said: ‘I record butterflies for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, so I am as concerned as anyone about biodiversity.’ While there will be short-term disruption, Simon said, the management of the floodplain as a single entity with a goal of improving biodiversity will be better for nature in the long run.

The BBC also published a story yesterday on the County Council’s approval of the scheme in which Simon is quoted.

OFAS planning application approved

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The planning application for the Oxford Flood Alleviation scheme has been approved by Oxfordshire County Council’s Planning and Regulation Committee with eight votes ‘for’ and one abstention.

The committee heard from 13 objectors, 16 supporters, the Environment Agency, and the County’s planning team before debating the scheme and making their decision. The Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will be given an opportunity to call in the application because the scheme is in the greenbelt, but this is normal procedure.

The decision should now clear the way for approval of the compulsory purchase order (CPO) which was the subject of a public inquiry at the end of last year. The CPO approval follows a separate process and is currently with DEFRA. Consideration of the planning inspector’s report was delayed because of the general election.

We understand the environmental concerns of objectors and are committed to ensuring the scheme delivers on its biodiversity net gain targets.

Oxford Flood Alliance is grateful to all the people, local residents and councillors, who spoke in support of the scheme. Also to the team at the Environment Agency. This is a huge achievement after 10 years of work.

15 July planning meeting will decide OFAS planning application

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We now have formal confirmation that the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme will be decided by Oxfordshire County Council Planing and Regulation Committee on 15 July. The officers report recommends approval of the scheme. Copies of the agenda and the officer’s report area available online here.

The 160 page report includes a detailed review of all aspects relevant to the planning application which the committee needs to consider. The full text of the recommendation to support is as follows:

The application has been considered against the development plan, taking account of material considerations including statutory and non-statutory consultation responses and public representations. It is recommended that, subject to the application first being referred to the Secretary of State to consider
whether he wishes to call it in for his own determination and to conditions to be determined by the Head of Strategic Planning, including those listed in Annex 1, and the signing of a Section 106 Agreement to secure 30 years Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan for offsite Biodiversity Net Gain and a monitoring fee, the application is approved.

Oxford Flood Alliance will be at the planning meeting and expects to address the committee. We very much hope they will approve the application. This is the culmination of ten years of work on the scheme. If planning consent is granted it will leave only one further hurdle to clear, approval of the Compulsory Purchase Order by the new Secretary of State at DEFRA, Steve Reed. A public inquiry into the CPO concluded in January this year but a decision on the inspectors report was delayed by the calling of the general election. We hope approval will be given in the next couple of months.

OFAS planning decision likely to be July

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We have been told that the OFAS planning application will not be going to the 3 June meeting of the County Council’s Planning and Regulation committee as we had hoped. The Council officers are still writing their report and we are expecting a special meeting to be arranged in July at which a decision on the application will be made.

More wet winters on the way

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Analysis by climate scientists working as part of the World Weather Attribution group shows that the heavy rain and storms seen last Autumn and Winter were 10 times more likely in a world with global warming of 1.2C. This is the latest of hundreds of studies which clearly point to observable changes in our weather being linked to human-created global warming.

As well as making such rainfall events more likely, global warming also means the rain is 20% more intense. The Met Office predicts that wet winters like the one we’ve just seen could occur once every five years, and it warns that could be every three years if global temperatures rise by 2C.

The rapidly changing climate makes it imperative that more is down to build resilience so that communities can better cope. Less well off households are particularly vulnerable, the scientists say, as they are much less likely to have insurance and cannot afford the costs of repairs following flooding.

More information of the report, published by the Met Offices, is here.

Flood water in meadow behind Marlborough Road, Oxford, January 2024

County ecologist supports OFAS biodiversity plan

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Beccy Micklem, Landscape and Nature Recovery Team Leader at Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed that she is now satisfied the OFAS scheme can meet its targets in relation to biodiversity net gain. This follows the submission of ‘letters of comfort’ by the Environment Agency and three landowners confirming that land is available to provide offsite biodiversity compensation.

Ms Micklem’s updated response to the case officer says: ‘Following delivery of off-site habitat creation, the scheme will result in net gains of 11.24% area habitats, 11.66% hedgerows, and 15.22% watercourses. Provision of letters of comfort from landowners with whom the applicant is engaging with regards delivery of offsite BNG (Blenheim Estate, the Earth Trust and Oxford City Council) have recently been submitted, providing increased certainty that the necessary provision of offsite BNG will be deliverable.
Should you be minded to grant planning permission, a number of planning conditions and obligations will be needed to secure measures to conserve biodiversity and deliver a net gain.’

The document goes on to set out the specific conditions which should be attached to planning consent. This would appear to unblock the final obstacle to the scheme securing planning permission. We are hoping the application will now go to the 3 June meeting of the County Council planning committee.

The updated response and the letters of comfort are on the County planning portal.

Reducing flood risk by improving biodiversity

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Can improving biodiversity in Oxfordshire contribute to reducing flood risk? We think it can and there are conversations taking place across the county which could move this forward.

Oxfordshire County Council is developing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for the county. This flows from the 2021 Environment Act and government commitments to improve biodiversity across the UK. Oxford Flood Alliance has been participating in consultation meetings on the strategy. We’re interested in ways natural flood management in the catchment can help reduce flood risk.

The County is using expert advice alongside wide-ranging public consultation. Twelve workshops were held in March involving more than 300 participants, including conservationists, farmers and local government officers. A survey of local people received 650 responses. Results of these engagement activities were presented in an online meeting on 9 May attended by more than 100 people.

What matters most?

The two issues that gained the widest support from these consultations were improving the quality of our rivers and freshwater habitats and stopping river pollution from sewage and agricultural runoff. Benefits expected to come from this included reduced flooding (number 2 for the workshops and 3 in the survey result). There was also strong support for an end to building in the floodplain.  Thames Water cleaning up its act is critical to reducing pollution.

Simon Collings from OFA asked how reducing flood risk would be reflected in the priorities for  the strategy. Chloe Edwards, who leads on this work at the County Council, said this would be through identifying habitat improvements which included natural flood management to benefit properties and/or farmland. She said she expected this to be a significant component of the strategy.

How could this reduce flood risk?

LNRS is not the only county-wide strategy for dealing with flood risk, or even the main one, but slowing runoff and improving storage upstream across the Thames catchment could help. To see an example of this in action watch this video about the Evenlode Catchment Project. (The section of flood management starts around 9 mins in.)

Another example is outlined in the Bernwood, Otmoor, and Ray (BOR) strategy developed by BBOWT. The River Ray drains into the Cherwell, which joins the Thames in Oxford. The BBOWT plan is to create wetland areas which would slow the discharge of water from the Ray into the wider river system. Working with farmers will be critical in achieving this. The LNRS will incorporate existing initiatives like these as building blocks.

What does it mean for OFAS?

These strategies are not an alternative to the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme but they could help as climate change takes effect. They are also important for the survival of our wildlife. Connecting up areas of surviving biodiversity is seen as a key objective of the strategy. The OFAS scheme is designed to deliver biodiversity net gain as well as flood protection. The project could contribute to the creation of more joined-up habitat across the county.

The LNRS is intended to provide a focus for government funding decisions and a basis for various actors to collaborate. But it won’t be the only game in town. It is envisaged that there will still be a lot of other activity taking place over and above what’s included in the strategy.