Floods in Oxfordshire
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007Like many of my constituents, I was caught in the floods that hit Oxfordshire. I had to abandon my car in Longcot at about 3pm, and got a lift home to Sparsholt in a 4×4. My own home was saved from flooding by a quick- thinking neighbour, who dug a trench at the end of the road to allow water a foot deep to drain away. I spent the rest of Friday visiting villages nearby with County Councillor Iain Brown in his jeep. On the Sunday, I was able to get to most places to see what had happened, and spent the afternoon filling sand bags with other volunteers at the Regis Depot in Challow. We probably filled a thousand sand bags between us.
I saw Hanney at its worst on Friday, looking much better on Sunday. When I got to Marcham on Sunday, most of the water had drained away, but I know a few houses were badly hit. Lyford was devastated. The Ladygrove in Didcot suffered terrible problems, mainly because of the poor drainage, which I am taking up urgently with Thames Water. Certain parts of Grove were badly hit, particularly Kingfishers, Vale Avenue and the houses by the Barley Mow. Steventon was also hit badly. I never made it to Stanford, or the other villages near Faringdon.
It is perhaps too soon to draw conclusions, but here are three thoughts. Although the rain and the consequent flooding is the worst we have seen for fifty years, we cannot assume it won’t happen again for fifty years. Events like this are likely to become more frequent. Secondly, increased housing development must be a factor. It prevents water draining away, and many of the drainage systems themselves are very poor quality. This must cause real doubts about whether developments east of Swindon, in Grove and Didcot, not to mention the reservoir, can go ahead. Thirdly, and related, the local councils and the Environment Agency must sit down and analyse the worst affected areas and ask themselves what we can do to defend ourselves in the future, and whether, in that context, these developments should be allowed. I am pleased the Government has said they will reimburse councils for the flood damage and I will be supporting the councils in their dealings with Government.
