County council approves new five-year strategy to tackle flooding in Oxfordshire

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Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet approved a new local flood risk management strategy (LFRMS) on Tuesday (January 21).

The strategy sets out five objectives that are aimed at managing flood risks in the county.

These are: improving understanding; greater collaboration; ensuring holistic and sustainable approaches are used; preventing increases in flood risk; and improved communication.

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The strategy has been designed to cover a five-year period but also looks at longer-term flooding, particularly in relation to climate change.

Oxfordshire County Council has approved a new flood risk management strategy.Oxfordshire County Council has approved a new flood risk management strategy.
Oxfordshire County Council has approved a new flood risk management strategy.

Cllr Dr Pete Sudbury, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council with responsibility climate change, environment and future generations, said:

“We need to try to get ahead of the game when it comes to flooding, otherwise the economic and social losses are likely to spiral to an uncontrollable level.

“We're moving away from sporadic floods, every few years, to multiple sequential clusters of them. The next ratchet-up is continuous flooding over an extended period. We need to pre-empt that, which is why it is so important that strategies like the LFRMS are updated regularly.”

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Measures included in the new strategy are a list of flood-vulnerable locations, improving knowledge of flood hotspots, developing a local flood wardens pilot scheme and working alongside town and parish councils to develop emergency plans.

Cllr Sudbury added: “Flooding is devastating, and fear of being flooded again can have a terrible impact on people’s lives.

“When it comes to flood prevention, resilience and protection, there are no simple answers, and everyone has a role to play, including the whole public sector, the Environment Agency, water companies, farmers and landowners, local government, and residents themselves.”

To view the council’s new flood management strategy, visit: https://www.oxfordshirefloodtoolkit.com/library/

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