Witney News - Final Flood Report published

Final Flood Report published

The District Council has published its Final Flood Report, setting out what has been done since the July 2007 floods and future actions to alleviate flooding in West Oxfordshire.

The Final Flood Report is the culmination of an in-depth investigation by the Council into the summer 2007 floods, which affected more than 1,600 homes and 72 businesses in the District.

The Council has already produced an Interim Flood Report and individual Parish Flood Reports for the areas across the District that were affected by the floods, with the aim of helping to identify the cause of the flooding, who is responsible, what work is being carried, and what the potential options are for future mitigation and who might fund this work.

This Final Flood Report pulls together all the key information, a summary of actions taken to date and, most importantly, a programme of works for the future. As well as outlining the Council’s responsibilities regarding flooding and mitigation work, the report also highlights the responsibilities of other key agencies, such as the Environment Agency, Oxfordshire County Council and Thames Water. The Council has been working closely with all relevant agencies on the issue of flooding and believes this and its other reports will help everyone involved to plan for the future.

In addition to the Final Flood Report, work is currently being finalised on a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, which will be used alongside the flood reports to inform future strategic planning.

Cllr David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "A huge amount of work has gone into this report, and we will continue to work hard on this issue. We are one of only half a dozen or so councils in Britain to have gone into the level of detail contained in this and the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment. This will help us immensely, not only on future planning issues, but also in lobbying organisations such as the Environment Agency, County Council, Thames Water and riparian landowners, to enable us to protect as many homeowners and businesses in West Oxfordshire as we can."

As with all previous reports, the Final Flood Report will be passed onto key agencies such as the Environment Agency, as well as the District’s MP, the Rt Hon David Cameron. All of the reports are available for residents to view online at www.westoxon.gov.uk/floodreports. Copies are also available at the Council’s Elmfield Offices, New Yatt Road, Witney, Town Centre Shop in Witney and the Guildhall, Chipping Norton.

For more information about the Final Flood Report, residents can call 01993 861000 or look on the dedicated flooding pages on the Council website.