Flood-hit Abingdon residents want answers on flood barriers

Jim King, a member of the Ock Valley Flood Group formed in the wake of devastating floods in 2007, suffered damage to electrical goods when his garage was flooded during the early hours of Saturday.

He was just one of many people in the town whose lives were disrupted by the flooding which followed Storm Henk.

READ MORE: Flooding continues across Oxfordshire 

Abingdon Tesco Extra was forced to close at the weekend after the Ock burst it banks, flooding the car park.

And Larkmead School had to close on Monday and Tuesday after one of the school's boiler houses was flooded, causing the loss of heating and hot water.

Electricity was also lost, impacting about 30 classrooms as well as toilets, offices, learning support, a common room, gym, hall and canteen at the site.

Roads between Abingdon and Didcot were also closed due to flooding.

People living in Chaunterell Way and Orpwood Way on the Tithe Farm estate narrowly escaped having their homes flooded.

But their garages were hit, and they will now have to claim insurance for damage to electrical goods including fridges and freezers.

Mr King, 80, who lives on the estate, helped to launched the Ock Valley Flood Group.

He said: "There was good community spirit and people were up in the early hours of Saturday, lifting up manhole covers to get the water to flow away.

"But there was too much of it and it flooded our garages - it was about an inch away from getting into our homes.

"The Environment Agency sent out sandbags on Saturday evening, but by then the damage had been done."

Mr King said flood defence barriers were tested in the field next to the River Ock behind his home about six years ago.

READ MORE: Tesco Extra store reopens to customers after flooding 

But the EA barriers have now been removed and relocated to Gloucestershire, according to Mr King.

"If they had been kept at Dalton Barracks or somewhere local there would have been time to prevent the flooding that happened this time.

"It happened in 2007 and 2014 and it will happen again.

"These flood defences were bought for Abingdon, but as far as I know they have never been deployed in the town."

A statement on the group's website said: "Close call - As the River Ock level reached 1.40m, gardens and the road along Chaunterell Way flooded.

"Residents were up all night lifting manhole covers and doing what they could to keep the waters at bay - they were lucky this time. To protect against such a flood event the Environment Agency were to erect barriers - where were they?"

Another resident replied: "It wasn’t just roads and gardens. We still lost everything in the garages and inside porches.

"Yes we were lucky it didn’t get in the houses which are another step up from the porch, but it has still done a lot of damage for some. Fridge freezers, washing machines all gone!"

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran said: "I was very sad to see that homes were flooded on the Tithe Farm estate, and I am glad to hear that the damage does not seem to have been too bad.

“The Environment Agency needs to explain why their own proposed solution of a temporary flood barrier, which works in places like South Hinksey and Kennington, has now been dropped and come up with a new plan urgently.

“The agency has been promising a solution ever since the devastating flooding in 2007, and it is high time they came up with one, as I have repeatedly asked them to do."

Farm Road, off Dunmore Road, and Chilton Close, off Appleford Drive were also covered by flood water.

The Environment Agency said in a statement: "The Environment Agency remains committed to supporting the people of Abingdon. We held an event last year to pass on practical advice, and remain available to provide support. Our teams help reduce flood-risk by cutting grass and weeds, and removing debris from rivers and streams.

“Waterlogged ground in the Ock floodplain at Abingdon and little time to react to the fast-responding river create practical and safety risks with the use of temporary flood barriers here. We have withdrawn our temporary flood barrier plan for Abingdon as a result of these risks."

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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