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/.