A flooding conference featuring delegates from Oxford’s European twin towns was due to start today.

Representatives from Bonn in Germany, Grenoble in France, Leiden in the Netherlands and Perm in Russia are meeting with Environment Agency director Lord Chris Smith, MEP James Elles, and city council members.

May Wylie, the city council’s international officer, said: "The conference is a partnership event between Oxford, Leiden, Bonn, Grenoble and Perm and will build on a series of meetings and seminars held in Oxford in recent years."

The conference is being funded by the European Union and will feature workshops, discussion groups and a site visit to Osney Island in West Oxford, one of the worst-hit areas during the flooding of July 2007.

Richard Thurston, of Osney Island Residents’ Association, said he was looking forward to sharing experiences with the participants.

He said: “One of the things I’m keen to find out is how the Germans cope with flooding.

“Here we’ve got to deal with the city and county councils, Thames Water and the Environment Agency.

“Sometimes these things overlap, but there are so many people to deal with.

“I want to know if the Germans have a King Canute figure, or a floods tsar, who oversees everything.

“It’s a really positive idea and I hope we can learn from one another. Certainly the city council has really moved on and learned from the July 2007 floods – I hope we will be better prepared and protected next time.”

Peter Rawcliffe, of the Oxford Flood Alliance, said he supported the conference, especially the participation of Lord Smith.

He said: “I very much welcome the conference and am very impressed that Chris Smith is coming. “It is good people know about Oxford and its problems with flooding.

“All praise must go to the city council for organising this.

“It will certainly raise awareness and keep things on the agenda to make sure people don’t forget about it.

“Chris Smith is at the top of the tree at the Environment Agency so it is quite an achievement to get him to come down.”

l Ten Neighbourhood sandbags centres are to be set up in west Oxfordshire.

It is one of a range of measures being undertaken following the July 2007 floods.

The district council has divided west Oxfordshire up to give householders with a history of flooding a short drive to stock up with sandbags.The centres will be in Witney, Bampton, Standlake, Charlbury, Bladon, Burford, Filkins, Chipping Norton, and the Wychwoods and Bartons areas.