Study of £3m flood protection scheme for Abingdon

3:43pm Wednesday 22nd October 2008

By Jen Rivett »
 

There are new hopes that Abingdon could get a £3m flood protection scheme.

This week, the Environment Agency said it was, after all, prepared to commission a £345,000 feasibility report on flood prevention measures for the town.

In July, The Herald reported that the agency would not bother to apply for a Government grant for flood prevention at Abingdon as the town was not one of the worst-hit areas during the floods of July 2007.

But the EA now says it is ready to spend £345,000 on a report to determine whether measures such as flood storage and concrete walls would work.

The money for the report has been raised through a local levy — a £10m central pot collected from local councils and distributed by the Thames Regional Flood Defence Committee.

The report will be finished by September next year. If it backs flood prevention measures, a decision will be made on whether to apply for a Government grant or to seek further funding from the local levy.

Committee chairman Peter Ryder said: "The local levy we have set enables us to identify and finance projects that will benefit local communities at risk of flooding, but which are not of the highest priority nationally.

"These are often small scale, but of huge significance to those at risk."

EA spokesman Rachael Collins said the outcome of the study would determine whether the agency would apply for a protection grant.

Malcolm Moor, chairman of South Abingdon Floodplain Action Group, was concerned there would not be enough of the £10m local levy to go around the nine counties and London in the Thames river catchment area.

The agency's preferred options for Abingdon would cost between £3m and £3.5m to implement.

Mr Moor, of Ock Mill Close, said: "Much of Abingdon was brought to a standstill during the July 2007 floods, with Ock Street impassable, which must have had a severe impact on our local economy, in addition to the misery and costs for the hundreds of homes affected.

"A repeat of those floods during the present economic downturn could hurt local businesses even more — so effective flood prevention is urgently needed now.

"I think this is a good time for Abingdon to urgently push for action and for the Government to back up its promises of help with hard cash."

According to the EA, 433 residential properties and 21 businesses in the town were flooded in July 2007.

More than a year later, 25 families have still not returned to their homes.

The EA has proposed building walls and embankments along the River Ock, creating flood storage areas upstream of the town and knocking down the disused St Helen's Mill Bridge.

But their preferred options scored 4.1 and 4.7 on the EA's benefit-to-cost ratio and it does not apply for Government grants when that score is below five.

Town councillor Samantha Bowring, who was flooded out of her home in Turberville Close, said: "Obviously, I welcome any increase in funding to help flood defence work.

"But this does not get away from the fact Government funding for flood prevention remains woefully inadequate."

David Hutchins, 84, of Crosslands Drive, Abingdon, said: "If this means they will do something to help stop flooding, then the money should be spent."