Witney News - Flood support money for West Oxfordshire

Flood support money for West Oxfordshire

West Oxfordshire District Council is to receive £61,000 to support its flood recovery programme.

This money comes from the Government’s special Restoration Fund (funded by the EU) and the 62 local authorities who were affected by last summer’s floods will each receive a share of almost £31million.

Cllr Barry Norton, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council said, “The costs associated with last year’s flooding and the ongoing flood prevention work has placed a huge financial strain on the Council and other public services. Support such as this is welcomed and will go towards our continued flood recovery work. We will continue to press government to supply more financial assistance to communities to ensure that any major schemes to prevent future flooding are fully funded in addition to the funds they have given to repair the damage of last July.”

During the last 12 months the Council has been carrying out land drainage work ensuring damage to ditches it is responsible for has been repaired and that they are clear from debris as a consequence of the flooding. It is currently identifying problem ditches and land ownership issues, approaching landowners requesting them to clear their watercourses to ensure drains work effectively.

The Council has also carried out an engineering review of actions needed to be carried out to alleviate future flooding. This is nearing completion and each affected town / parish is to receive an action plan. The first 12 plans have been published and are available at www.westoxon.gov.uk. The remainder will be available by the end of August.