Oxfordshire flooding: Fears after road floods near Wantage

Letcombe Road in Letcombe Regis near Wantage has flooded for several years in a row now, angering residents and councillors alike.

The road became flooded on Wednesday (March 6) after heavy overnight rain, which rendered large sections of the road unusable.

Oxfordshire County Council sent contractors to the site in the week with workers digging a trench to lay a new pipe from the road to the nearby Letcombe Brook.

Paul Barrow fears that this may not be the end of the problems. (Image: Paul Barrow)

This then filled with rain though, which complicated things for residents and local councillor Paul Barrow, who was also at the site.

“It was not helped by someone driving through the flood before the barriers went up, which damaged the pipe used for the pumping” he said.

This issue has since been dealt with as the pipework has been replaced and the flood water on the road has been pumped away.

The regular flooding in the area had been caused in part by silt blocking the drainage pipe that runs under the road from gulleys.

The road was pumped dry but remained closed off. (Image: Paul Barrow)

These would usually drain the sloping field to the north and discharge into Letcombe Brook, but the water drains first into a sump where the silt settles out.

This is before the water drains into the brook and the sump fills up quickly which has been causing the flooding issues now for years.

“We are hoping that this new pipework will resolve most of the problem,” added Paul.

“However, the silt and mud left on the road shows how much silt and mud drains of these fields and it seems likely that emptying the sump twice a year as suggested might not be enough.”

“The residents most affected by the regular flooding and the parish council would like to see this fixed once and for all.”

New pipework has now been laid in the area. (Image: Paul Barrows)

The silt mess left from the flooding and works remains on the road but is expected to be cleared away during this coming week.

The residents in Wantage and its surrounding areas are no strangers to heavy flooding in recent months with this being just the latest setback.

In November 2023, fire and police teams descended upon the W&G estate on the A417 after flooding caused by Storm Ciaran closed sections of the road.

Business owners in the Wantage area at the time called on local emergency services to take greater control in managing flooding situations to ensure there is minimal impact on their operations.

The flooding led emergency services to direct traffic away from the estate and prevented vehicles from using the road.