The footpath leading away from Tesco, which becomes unusable during floods, has been  damaged by the force of the recent floods in January and February. Currently there are notices to warn people of the unsafe surface.

The asphalt surface is cracked into large pieces, where it has been swept aside.

P.S. I haven’t been that way since mid February, when the damage probably happened.

This February, there was only one frost on February 1st. Since then, it’s been mostly cloudy and rainy. Today is no different. It’s overcast and raining and there was a fall of sleet earlier.

Already, the fields near the River Thames are flooded.

Tall poplars line the edge of the cricket field, with Wilsham Road behind.

Due to flooding, the Abingdon Parkrun has been cancelled on February 24th and most other Saturdays in 2024. Only the February 3rd event went ahead this year, which was muddy.

People who have commented on the plans for building a new care home and nursery (Plan P23/V2861/O on Land north of Copenhagen Drive, Abingdon) are worried that there might be problems with draining the water away from the site.

Abingdon Town Council commented, ‘The town council is also concerned about the risk of flooding as excess water will use the drain installed by Aldi and will end up in Larkhill stream. There has recently been flooding around Larkmead School, which may have been exacerbated by pressure on Larkhill stream, which runs close to the site. This is likely to be worsened by the proposed development.’

In the Aldi plan it was proposed ‘to discharge surface water from the development to the watercourse on the far side of Wootton Road, via a new connection.’ The new development is planning to do the same and drain surface water into what it calls ‘Watercourse A’.

“Watercourse A” disappears underground near Wootton Road. Then, another stream called Larkhill Stream appears from under the same road, but I’m not sure if they’re connected.

More rain last night caused more flooding in North Abingdon! Farm Road and the Peachcroft Play area were underwater again. The Larkhill Stream (pictured above) also overflowed its banks.

About half way along the length of the Larkhill Stream is a flood holding area (at Rawlings Grove) , and that became a pond overnight.

The Larkhill Stream (pictured on the left) is cloudy with dirt (silt) compared to the clear stream from Shippon (pictured on the right). Both streams meet near Larkmead School. I wonder if the dirt in Larkhill Stream came from “Watercourse A.” Anyone know? A friend is worried about this and trying to find out more before the plans go through.

The River Ock caused flooding today (Saturday), leading to the closure of the Tesco Extra store in Abingdon. The store’s car park and access roads were underwater. This is the second time the store has had to close due to flooding in 2024. This follows persistent rain during much of Thursday.

The people of Ladygrove Estate watched the water with concern yesterday and today, but the water did not go as high as it did during the January flood.

P.S. Tesco reopened on Sunday.