The Environment Agency has announced further details of its work to progress with the development of a £120 million flood alleviation scheme for Oxford and two smaller schemes for Abingdon at a cost of £5 million-plus.

There are currently 4,500 properties in Oxford at a 1% or higher annual risk of flooding and the figure could rise to nearly 6,000 properties by the year 2080, with the predicted effects of climate change, according to the Environment Agency.

The Agency already carries out regular maintenance activities and operates its existing assets to reduce the flood risk as much as possible - however, 1,800 properties still remain at risk.

In 2009 the Environment Agency carried out the Oxford Flood Risk Management Strategy setting out how flood risk in Oxford can be managed over the next 100 years. Since the January 2014 floods, the project team has been working with partners including Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, Thames Water, Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, University of Oxford and the Oxford Flood Alliance, to develop a scheme in line with the strategy.

Investigations have shown that lowering parts of Oxford’s floodplain and widening some of the rivers and streams that run through it can create more space for flood water and reduce flood risk to the city. The Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme project team has analysed various options and now determined the best route for the scheme, which runs from North of Botley Road and re-joins the River Thames near Kennington. The scheme will work by diverting flood water across the open flood plain and away from properties which flood at present.The original proposals had suggested that the scheme would need to extend further, down to Sandford, as well as including works at Weirs Mill Stream.

Now the route has been decided, the next stage is to design the scheme. This has 2 phases: outline and detailed. At outline stage, the fundamental engineering behind the scheme must be agreed. At detailed stage, the team will add detail about the design of the scheme and how it will be built. A number of various approvals must be sought, including planning permission, before construction can begin.

The £120 million scheme already has funding from central government, the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and local councils, but needs further contributions to enable construction. Following the result of the EU referendum, Bob Price, the leader of Oxford City Council, warned that the Brexit vote could make it harder to find the £20 million still needed for the scheme.

Provided the scheme is fully approved and funded, the earliest work can be expected to start is spring 2018. Construction is expected to be completed by 2022.

The Environment Agency is also working with the Vale of White Horse District Council to develop proposals to reduce flood risk in Abingdon where 2 flood risk management schemes currently being considered.

Until recently, further flood schemes in Abingdon were not financially viable. However, a new partnership funding mechanism has allowed the project team to explore more funding options and investigate potential schemes.

The estimated cost for the appraisal, design and construction of the 2 schemes in Abingdon is over £5 million. Funding will come from central government and Vale of White Horse District Council. A scheme at St Helen’s Mill is fully funded from these sources, but additional third party funding may be required for the proposed flood storage area on the River Ock.

The detailed design for the St. Helen’s Mill scheme will be completed by the end of 2016. Construction is expected to be complete by March 2017.

The next stage for the River Ock upstream storage project will involve talking to local communities about a series of proposed options for the flood storage area. The feasibility of the scheme will be confirmed in early 2017 once the modelling and economic assessments are complete.