12
January
2016
|
14:37
Europe/London

Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme channel options open for consultation

These events also offer local communities, residents and businesses the opportunity to talk to the project team and to feed in local expertise and ideas for managing different aspects of the scheme, such as arrangements for construction and how to remove and re-use waste material from the site. Attendees can also indicate their preferred options for the route of a new flood relief channel.

These events will provide an update on the work the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme Project Team have been doing since the last public events were held in summer 2015. Working with our partners including Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the Environment Agency has been using the wealth of information and ideas gathered from the last public events along with recent ground investigations to help develop options for the route of a flood relief channel.

Councillor Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader for Oxfordshire County Council added: “Plans for the flood alleviation scheme are progressing well, and now is a good time to share all the work that has been done as part of the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme Project since the last public events were held last summer.

“As the lead local flood authority, Oxfordshire County Council strongly supports the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme and we encourage local communities, residents and businesses to take this opportunity to get involved in influencing the development of the scheme and have their say on the different options for the route of a new flood relief channel.”

Joanna Larmour, Project Director for the Environment Agency, said: “Our first round of events in summer 2015 were a great success. These events are an exciting opportunity for you to influence the work we are doing in your community on the flood alleviation scheme, and I look forward to hearing your views. I hope that many of you can make it, as the more local input we have, the better the scheme will be. I look forward to seeing you there.”

Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: "The flood alleviation scheme is our best opportunity of ensuring that we are able to prevent the River Thames from flooding in the Vale, and it's very clear that we need a solution in place sooner rather than later. I urge residents to come along to the public events, they are a great opportunity to find out how they could be affected by the scheme and to give their feedback on options for a relief channel."

All public events will be open from 2:30pm to 7pm in the following locations:

  • Tuesday 19 January, Oxford Town Hall, OX1 1BX
  • Wednesday 20 January, Abbey House, Abingdon, OX14 3JE
  • Friday 22 January, South Oxford Community Centre, OX1 4RP
  • Wednesday 27 January, Kennington Village Centre, OX1 5PG
  • Thursday 28 January, West Oxford Community Centre, OX2 0BT

If you are unable to make the events, there will also be an opportunity to respond via the online e-consultation portal, https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/portal , which will be open from 19 January until 1 March 2016.