MORE than one thousand homes in Oxfordshire are no longer at risk of flooding, the Environment Agency said last night.

The agency has shifted approximately 1,270 homes – mainly in parts of Abingdon, Oxford and Wallingford – from its new flood map of the county.

It also said about 730 properties, previously considered to have a one per cent chance of flooding in a year, were now 10 times less likely to flood.

However, most homes hit by the July 2007 floods remain at the same level risk and roughly 420 homes in Oxfordshire are now deemed at greater risk, including some homes in Abingdon, Wheatley, Steventon and Oxford.

The agency redraws the map every three months when new data becomes available and flood measures have been put in place.

In Abingdon, about 745 homes have been removed from the map, the majority around Ock Street and High Street.

It follows extra flood prevention work carried out on the River Ock.

However, 153 homes, mainly in Caldecott Road and Ladygrove areas, are actually at increased risk of flooding.

Flood victim and mother-of-three, Samantha Bowring, of Turberville Close, Abingdon, said although her property is less at risk now, the flood maps were not clear enough to make a real difference.

More than 600 homes in the town were hit in the July 2007 floods.

The 39-year-old said: “I welcome the changes, but I don’t think the maps give enough information so people can take it to insurance companies to change their premiums.

“It’s not going to stop people worrying because the homes that have been removed are not the ones which flooded two years ago.”

Malcolm Moor, chairman of South Abingdon Flood Plain Action Group (Swag), said: “It’s encouraging to see more homes at less risk of flooding, especially on the south side of the river.

“But we can’t stop our campaign to protect the flood plain from future development and push the Environment Agency and Government to spend more on flood prevention.”

In the Northfield Brook area of Oxford, which runs through Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys, 262 homes have been removed from the map and 136 are at a reduced risk of flooding.

Twenty four homes around Pegasus Primary School area are at slightly increased risk of flood. The estate was not affected in July 2007.

Fiona Ravenscroft, 47, of Osney Island, Botley, Oxford, saw her home flooded in 2007.

She said: “We know we are high risk. We are not surprised. We are on a flood plain, we always have been and always will be.”

Area flood risk manager Barry Russell urged residents to check if their property lies within its flood map and sign up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service.