NEW FLOOD defences are to be deployed on Osney Island to protect 75 vulnerable properties.
Barriers made of galvanised steel will be deployed at strategic locations on the island during times of flood risk.
The £150,000 defences will be stored at the Environment Agency's Osney Mead depot and available from this May onwards.
Following a Europe-wide search for demountable defences, the EA announced that it had awarded a contract to Geodesign Barriers Ltd.
The panel-style defences will be placed in three separate sections along parts of East Street, West Street and South Street. The total length of the defences will be approximately 270 metres and they will be combined with pumps.
When in use they form an angled barrier, covered by metal panels and reinforced plastic membrane. The barriers can fold flat for storage.
Osney Island was badly hit by the floods last July and only narrowly missed a second serious flooding in January.
The barriers are already widely used in the UK, protecting residents and businesses in Shropshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Yorkshire and Hampshire.
Rob Alexander, a flood risk engineer at the EA, said it will be looking at introducing short-term measures, including barriers, in other parts of the city.
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