Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme public inquiry commences

A public inquiry that will decide the future of a flood alleviation scheme in Oxford is under way.

The city has experienced significant flooding, with water causing damage to homes and businesses in 2007, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

The £176m scheme would create a route for floodwater between the Botley Road in Oxford and Kennington.

The Environment Agency (EA) has made a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the scheme.

Such orders enable authorities to acquire land from a landowner to develop infrastructure projects in the public interest.

The EA said it was normal practice "when planning a scheme of this scale... to ensure all land essential to the working of the scheme is acquired". 

One of the biggest flood schemes in the country, the project involves creating a new stream through the existing floodplain to the west of Oxford, diverting floodwater away from built-up areas.

The 5km-stream (3.1 miles) would begin north of Botley Road and end south of the A423 near Kennington, where it would join the River Thames.

Patricia Murphy, from the Oxford Flood and Environment Group, is a resident at risk of flooding and told the inquiry the scheme could have "a devastating effect on the environment".

She said: "I want everyone to have a really good flood scheme that's value for money and works.

"We don't believe the channel will achieve this but it will mean years of years of misery for commuters and people who live here."

According to community action group the Oxford Flood Alliance, more than 50 letters have been sent to the inquiry in support of the scheme, many from residents with "harrowing" experiences of floods.

Simon Collings, a resident from the Oxford Flood Alliance, said: "The river rises over a number of days and you just go through this terribly anxious period wondering when it's going to stop and whether it will rise to a level that will affect your house."

He added that none of the other flood schemes suggested "present a better option than the scheme that the Environment Agency is putting forward".

The Ferry Hinksey Trust, which owns a 10-acre field subject to the CPO, said alternative proposals were needed to reduce the costs and the time it will take to carry out, and to cause less harm to the environment.

Canon Dr Chris Sugden, who lives in North Hinksey, said the current proposals would cause "irreparable damage" to the local area.

The inquiry at the King's Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford, in which an independent inspector will hear the cases for and against the scheme, is expected to last about five weeks.

A decision on the CPO is expected mid-2024. If confirmed, the EA said it could move to implement it in late 2024.

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