Heavy rain from about 4 pm to midnight last night (Thursday) has led to the danger of flooding.

River Ock

This evening (Fri 5 Jan), a flood warning was issued at 9:30 pm, meaning property flooding is possible near the River Ock. I took this picture at about 3 pm at the gate to Chaunterell Way Park, and by 9:30 pm, the water was past the gate, and a group of anxious people were watching. The water would then flow into Chaunterell Way. The River Ock indicator shows the water level is still rising as I type this at 11 pm https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/station/7081.

Near the town centre, water from the River Ock is spilling out from Mill Stream Court and flooding Caldecott Road near the iron bridge.

The new flood wall has not totally protected St Helen’s Mill.

Tesco closed at around 3:45 pm because all access roads and the carparks were flooded. Staff were going home.

The new Premier Inn continues to operate. They have opened a gate directly onto Marcham Road to let customers in and out, as the Tesco access is flooded.

River Stert and Radley Brook in North Abingdon

Last night (Thursday/Friday) there was road flooding in North Abingdon with people anxiously watching water levels. Farm Road was still partly underwater on Friday morning (near the River Stert). Chilton Close, and Appleford Drive, were affected by the Radley Brook.

Some suspicion is being pointed at the new developments in North Abingdon near those watercourses.

There are a series of flood holding places in North Abingdon, new and old. The old one at Tilsley Park is full. I have not heard of any reports of properties flooding in North Abingdon.

River Thames

The River Thames is higher than yesterday but its flood plain is huge. Water was washing onto the road at St Helen’s Wharf. There is also road flooding at the junction of Preston Road and Wilsham Road, and along the Wilsham Road from the River Thames (possibly through the drains?).

The River Ock joins the River Thames at the Iron Bridge. Water here is high from both directions. This may be causing some backing up of water.

Abingdon was hit by strong winds today, and the heavy rains of previous days caused the River Ock to overflow and flood the surrounding area.

The path and fields near the Ladygrove Estate were submerged, but the water levels had peaked by evening, looking at the flood monitoring station.

At Tesco, the car park and central approach road were flooded, forcing customers to use the petrol station way instead.

Martin emailed me about the Environmental Agency (EA) flood presence on the Ladygrove meadow on Wednesday, 5th July. Martin went along as he lives nearby and suffered flooding on July 22nd 2007. The event was attended by local residents, including members of the Ock Valley Flood Group. (Thank you to them for the use of the picture.)

Martin spoke to a lady from the EA about flood warnings, as he received no warning when his back garden flooded on April 2nd 2023. There was no flood warning at that time, although there was probably a flood alert (lower).

He asked about the River Ock flood storage plan and got the expected answer that it was not economically viable. He also asked about dredging and got the answer that this has little effect, as the nature of a river is that it soon silts up again. However, there is work going on further upstream to ease matters.

He was told about the Thames Valley Flood scheme and website at https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/what-is-the-thames-valley-flood-scheme. The scheme’s primary goal is to reduce flood risk and build climate resilience, and they have 20 different approaches, some of which are relevant to the Ock Valley.

Oxfordshire County Council was also there. Their stall was more about dealing with floods and the Oxfordshire Flood Tool kit https://www.oxfordshirefloodtoolkit.com/.

The River Ock and the associated Sandford Brook again burst their banks. Flooding was avoided in many homes in South Abingdon in Oxfordshire, England, thanks to the natural floodplains. Although it was a worrying time for Abingdon residents living close to the Ock, the Tesco superstore on Marcham Road was most seriously affected. It closed when the entire car park and access roads were flooded. Future floods will also affect the Premier Inn and could cause its evacuation.



The River Ock flood waters have gone down. The first three pictures picture were on Sunday.

Here is the scene today on the Ock Valley Walk, Monday.

There is some damage to pathways and trees.

Malcolm Moor of the South Abingdon Floodplain Action Group wrote to me to say, ‘Since the Abingdon Tesco Superstore opened in 1982 it has been one of Tesco’s most lucrative stores nationally. As well as contributing to the local economy, the massive footprint of the store and its car park in the floodplain of the River Ock have contributed to the severity of flooding in Abingdon on a number of occasions, so perhaps it is now time for Tesco to make a significant financial contribution to the Environment Agency to help in implementing effective flood alleviation measures for the town that has contributed so much to Tesco’s profits. To worsen the Abingdon flood situation, the Premier Inn has now also been built in the Ock floodplain, so a contribution to flood mitigation measures from the Whitbread and Hilton Groups would also be welcome to demonstrate their civic responsibility.’