Grants on offer to help communities tackle flooding
Communities who want to carry out projects to reduce the impact of flooding can apply for grants of up to £25,000.
For the second year running, Oxfordshire County Council is offering groups the chance to apply for funding for work to make their communities more resilient to flooding.
Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “Local communities are often the experts when it comes to knowing what their area needs to tackle flooding, so it makes sense to give them the money to get on with the job.
“With the impact of climate change, extreme weather events such as flooding are becoming more frequent and more severe. Flooding can be devastating for those who experience it, and too many communities went through it numerous times last year.
"These grants are a part of our drive to get on the front foot, helping residents to take effective action to tackle flooding and other manifestations of our increasingly extreme climate. We are all in this together.
“In our role as lead local flood authority, we are delighted to be able to make these grants available and believe it will make a real difference to the communities that are most affected by flooding.”
The initial funding of £500,000 will be targeted at flood schemes led by parish, town, district and city councils, flood groups and catchment partnerships.
The aim is for communities to deliver small scale work themselves to reduce flooding from surface water run-off, ordinary watercourses and groundwater.
Projects could include small flood storage areas, embankments or channels, culvert (pipe) removal, improvements on ordinary watercourses, natural flood management work, or improving community flood resilience through awareness raising and preparedness.
Groups wishing to apply have until 18 April to register their expression of interest by emailing the flood management team on floodmanagement@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Last year, the scheme handed out £250,000 in grants to parishes and community flood groups including those in Sunningwell, Nuneham Courtenay, Northmoor, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell and Ascott-under-Wychwood.
Projects included floodplain storage, ditch clearance, culvert cleaning, stabilising failing banks, and the installation of timber dams.
Witney Flood Group was awarded a flood grant to help it install river gauges to improve its ability to monitor river levels and support its community resilience plan. It also received support from West Oxfordshire District Council.
Keith Jameson, Witney Flood Group drainage engineer, said: “Understanding how river levels rise and fall, and the impact of structures and maintenance issues is essential.
“Previously, submerged gauge boards made it difficult to monitor these changes. The new system offers real time insights that are key to identifying priority areas for improving channel capacity.”
More information is available in the county council’s Oxfordshire flood toolkit.
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