Our homes and businesses are threatened or have been damaged from flooding and storms
How can we adapt to what is happening?
Oxfordshire Green party member Judy Chipchase, a former city council planner and a flood threatened resident; and David Thomas an experienced water engineer and Green Party candidate for Holywell Ward say:
We sympathise deeply with families and businesses having to cope with these prolonged floods, and recognise that climate change is only going to make matters worse in years to come. The fact is, however, the effectivenesss of the proposed £160 million Western Conveyance has not been proven. It’s just one of a range of options on the table. We don’t believe the Government has looked meaningfully at up-stream management, and feel that flood victims in Oxford have not been properly consulted or listened to.
The Green Party proposes:
-
Consultations to be held in flood risk areas for you—the public—to share your experiences with experts from government and other agencies, and discuss the range of flood prevention methods available to Oxford.
-
To push for a comprehensive study in to the potential for holding back water in the Thames and its tributaries, and the effective management of the upstream catchment. This should involve tree and wetland planting, which will also absorb carbon which is giving rise to climate change. We also want to see communities down river kept safe as well.
-
Communities most at risk, like South and West Oxford, should have street-by-street emergency response plans, building on the successes of initiatives such as the temporary bunds and new pumping techniques.
-
It may be necessary to create new areas of flood plain and channels to let water through, especially at bottle necks like the Redbridge area in South Oxford and the Botley Road in West Oxford. This approach needs to be carefully researched in terms of its widest benefits in the long term.
We would like you to contact us with your recent flooding experiences. We need to work together to develop and economic and environmentally sustainable solution to flooding in Oxford.
Use the suggestion box below to tell us your stories of the Oxfordshire floods, post pictures, and let us know what you think you and we can do about it.
