Frustrated householders have called on a government agency to take responsibility for flooding which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to their properties.

The ownership of a culvert which became blocked in March and caused severe flooding in Chilcot Close and Appleford Drive, Abingdon, has been uncovered by county councillor Nathan Ley, Vale of White Horse councillor Oliver Forder and the Environment Agency.

The collaborative investigation discovered the culvert belonged to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), although the agency itself was unaware of this.

READ MORE: Oxford MP demands answers from UK Gov Environment Agency

Having learned about the agency’s ownership of the water passage, Nicholas Crawford, from Abingdon, said: “They should have known about it. No-one's taken responsibility for this culvert and I don’t want it to happen again.

“It’s taken about £20,000 insurance for the actual building, and my tenants’ furniture and other belongings around another £20,000.

“Water came up through the floor, and through the air bricks. The whole bottom half of the house had to be redone, new flooring, new kitchen cupboards, new downstairs toilet, the walls had to be dried and repainted, and all the tenants’ furniture was ruined.

“The tenants decided to live upstairs in the bedrooms for four months because they couldn’t afford a hotel.”

Mr Crawford claims the insurance on his house will now increase tenfold because it has been designated as a flood risk area.

Wendy Wirduam, another householder in Chilton Close whose insurance claim for buildings and contents was around £25,000, said: “The energy authority should have known about the culvert because the whole street was owned by them originally.

“Something needs to be done to prevent it happening again so hopefully the energy authority will come up with a plan.”

Cllr Ley stressed he did not blame the government agency for the situation and also said the UKAEA has been very co-operative since learning that it owns this area of stream.

He said: “Because of our detective work, the Atomic Energy Authority have been told they still own this land and are now connected to the Environment Agency and have agreed to install a new solution.

“This will need to involve replacement of assets and a proactive maintenance regime.”

Iain Wallace, head of campus and property development for the UKAEA, said: “The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority recently undertook an exercise to review its legacy land and property ownership.

“It engaged proactively with the Environment Agency to establish ownership of the stream and associated culvert in Abingdon.

“During the flooding that took place on March 31, UKAEA was not aware of who owned the affected area. Additionally, access to the watercourse at the time was restricted by a locked gate, with the key being held by the Environment Agency.

“In July 2023, UKAEA was notified of its potential responsibilities regarding the affected area. However, it was only in recent weeks, several months after the flooding, that UKAEA received a copy of the key to the gate.

“UKAEA is still working on the review of its legacy land and properties.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1