You are invited to go along to a local drop-in session on Wednesday 28 March 2018 anytime from 2.30pm to 7pm. Members of the project team will be on hand to discuss flood risk reduction proposals for Abingdon and for residents to share their comments and local knowledge. The drop-in will be at: Abingdon Community Free Space, 18 Bury Street, Abingdon.

The plans will be on display in the same venue from 26 March to 1 April for those unable to attend the drop-in.

Communities in Abingdon have experienced flooding in the past. The most dramatic recent occurrence was in 2007 when over 400 properties were flooded. The Environment Agency, the Vale of White Horse and Oxfordshire Councils have been working in partnership to better understand the causes of this flooding and identify actions that could reduce the risk in the future.

They have been looking into a number of options all of which include a potential flood storage area at Abingdon Common with possible complementary measures such as natural flood management and property level resilience to further reduce flood risk.

The Environment Agency and Vale of White Horse District Council have built a flood wall at St Helen’s Mill in Abingdon. It will reduce flood risk to homes at St Helen’s Mill and help to keep the access road to the car park open.

The last picture I have of St Helen’s Mill flooding was 7th January 2014. It could now be the last.

Work on the flood alleviation scheme at St Helen’s Mill in Abingdon has begun. A low wall alongside the River Ock is being built to protect the ground floor flats. The work is partly paid for by the district council, and organised by the Environment Agency.

Water from the River Ock has reached as far as St Helen’s Mill on a number of occasions, and in 2007 the floods surrounded the building. Since then the little bridge has been removed as it was thought to impede the flow, and St Helen’s Mill was tanked a few feet under the ground and about a meter above.