A new group will help Oxfordshire improve its readiness and response to flooding by bringing together many of the key organisations responsible for tackling it, Oxfordshire County Council has announced.

The Oxfordshire strategic flood risk group has been formed as a direct result of a flooding summit held by Oxfordshire County Council last month. It will be chaired from the new year by Prof Robert Van de Noort CBE, Vice Chancellor of Reading University and former Chair of the Thames Valley Flood and Costal Committee.

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “It is a real privilege and wonderful news for Oxfordshire to have Robert agree to contribute in this way. He is a real heavyweight in the sector, widely acknowledged as having led innovative approaches to flooding as chair of the Thames Valley Flood and Costal Committee for eight years.

“The rapid acceleration in extreme rainfall events means the traditional approaches focused around high-risk areas are no longer enough, and we need to shift very rapidly to a whole landscape approach. Having Robert on board really adds impetus to achieving that at the pace and scale necessary.”

The group will include representatives from the city and district councils, Thames Water, the Environment Agency, the Northeast Cotswold Farmer Cluster, landowners and community flood resilience groups.

Prof Van de Noort said: “I look forward to working alongside people representing all parts of the community across Oxfordshire. Flooding is an issue that can affect anyone and requires everyone to play their part to keep people safe from its worst impacts.

“I am fortunate to work alongside some of the world’s most eminent weather, climate and flood scientists at Reading, who advise world leaders and the UK government on how to manage flood risks. Floods will always occur, but the difference between a flood hazard and a flood disaster is in how we prepare for them and respond to them.”

The aim is to take a collective strategic overview of the management of flood risk in the county. It will support coordination of these matters with wider economic growth and water resource management initiatives.

It will also improve integration of flood risk planning and response at a strategic level in the county, and will be the central point of liaison between local, regional and national flooding policy developments.

November’s summit, which was prompted by the floods that affected Oxfordshire in January due to Storm Henk, was held while parts of the county were recovering from more recent flooding incidents. Oxford Flood Alliance attended the event,

It provided an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss a shared approach to flood response and resilience in Oxfordshire; to understand the future trajectories of flooding in Oxfordshire; and to deepen shared understanding of the range of potential solutions to increase flood resilience, sharing best practice to help others develop their own plans.

It asked questions such as what a joined-up response from multiple organisations looks like during the immediate aftermath of a flood, and what could be improved or changed.

Cllr Sudbury added: “We need to try to get ahead of the game, or the economic and social losses from flooding are likely to spiral to an uncontrollable level.

“Surface water flooding can probably affect almost anywhere, if the rain is as intense as we experienced in September. We’re moving from sporadic floods, every few years, to multiple sequential clusters of them.

“The next ratchet up is continuous flooding over an extended period and so we need to look to pre-empt that. That will take time, effort, collaborative cross-agency work and widespread citizen activation.”

The County Council hosted a flood summit, Oxfordshire Under Water, on 29 November – good timing given the recent emergency. Because of climate change we’re experiencing rainfall events unlike anything we’ve seen before. So how do we improve our resilience to flooding?

The event was led by Cllr Pete Sudbury, with representatives from the various local authorities (staff and councillors), the Environment Agency, Thames Water, the farming community, environmentalists, and several flood groups.

In the breakout session five groups spent 30 mins each on two questions: how do we improve resilience, and what does an effective response to a flood event look like? This was a rich discussion with many common threads emerging in the feedback. One theme was the role local flood groups can play in spreading reliable information to neighbours and feeding back on issues to the various response agencies. There was general recognition this isn’t as organised as it should be.

Making the link between flooding and climate change, and the need for behaviour changes in society (dietary, travel, consumption) if we’re to contain global warming was also discussed. Local flood groups can help raise these issues. Social inequalities and the impact of flooding on disadvantaged households was also highlighted.

There is much we can do to improve on current ways of working, with more joined-up thinking, and collaboration to make the best use of scarce resources. Flood-risk reduction, nature conservation, sustainable food production and reducing carbon emissions are inter-related.

We need to move away from a society where people see themselves as ‘consumers’, expecting ‘service’, to one were we see ourselves as ‘citizens’ asking what we can do to contribute.

Next week, 14-20 October, is Flood Action Week when the government will be raising awareness of flood risk and what we can do about it. Being prepared for flooding will reduce the impact, even if you only do a few basic things. Making your home flood resilient can, the government says, reduce the costs of repairs by up to 73%. Advice about what to do if you are at risk of flooding is available here.

Apart from protecting homes and businesses look out for flooding on roads and don’t drive through flood water. Most of those who die as a result of flooding in the UK do so because they tried to drive through a flood. Don’t chance it.

Take steps now to make sure you are as prepared and protected as possible.

South Hinksey could have a permanent flood bund in place by the end of 2025 if the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme gets the go ahead in the coming months. The Environment Agency has said the permanent bund would be ‘upfront in the build programme’, so if spades went in the ground this year South Hinksey would start to benefit immediately.

Adrian Porter of OFA, who lives in the village, said. ‘By winter 2025 we’d likely be protected. With a bit of good luck later this year, this really could be our last flood.’

Demountable barriers are currently in place in South Hinksey because of the high floodwater levels. It is the second time this year the defences have been deployed. In January the barriers went up too late to stop some property flooding, so this time the EA have acted quickly to have equipment in place in case it’s needed.

The deployment of temporary defences, Adrian says, has become ‘depressingly normal’. There was a barrier deployment in 2021, a near deployment in 2022, and now two deployments in 2024.  

‘Each time the disruption for the community is significant,’ Adrian explains, ‘with the farm yard and car-park occupied, horses displaced, gardens churned up and rotas of people to keep an eye on things overnight as the EA don’t have the staff to do it themselves.’

The decision to deploy is made by an over-stretched agency with input from advisors, flood modelling data, on-the-ground photographs and other ground-truthing evidence. It is inevitably a balance of strategy, finance, operations and infrastructure. In January the EA got the timing wrong, an awful 48 hours ensued and several properties flooded as a result.

This is totally avoidable. OFAS, which is awaiting planning consent, would mean the village wouldn’t need to rely on the vagaries of human decision-making and temporary barriers. Protection would be there every day of every year.  

‘We are a beautifully diverse community of young and old,’ Adrian says, ‘who thrive despite the lack of pub and shop. We work so hard to make this the perfect place for children to grow up and for everyone to enjoy, but with flooding an ever-present threat it is hard to feel completely safe. There is a solution. Let’s get on and deliver the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme.’

The Oxford Mail picked up on this story. You can read their version online here.