Left defenceless

1:00pm Wednesday 30th July 2008

THE GOVERNMENT is unlikely to fund major flood prevention work in Abingdon in the near future.

The Environment Agency admitted this week that its preferred options for preventing a repeat of last July's floods do not meet national funding criteria.

According to the EA, 433 residential properties and 21 businesses in the town were flooded by the River Ock last summer.

More than a year on, 43 families have still not returned to their homes.

But the EA said this week that it is not even bothering to apply for money to fund the schemes it believes would best protect the town - because it knows the Government would flatly refuse the request.

Residents say it "beggars belief" that the town is not regarded as a high enough priority.

The EA has proposed building walls and embankments along the River Ock, creating flood storage areas upstream of the town and also knocking down the disused St Helen's Mill Bridge.

The agency's preferred options would cost between £3m and £3.5m to implement.

Environment Agency officer Jed Ramsay admitted this week: "It's a priority for our office, but I guess nationally it's quite low on the list.

"At the moment the money comes from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and we can't get funding as we are slightly below the threshold."

The 'threshold' is the benefit-to-cost ratio of any flood prevention scheme. Currently the EA's two favourite Abingdon options score 4.1 and 4.7.

The agency does not apply for Government funding when the score is below five.

The EA has not ruled out making a bid for Defra funding for its preferred options at some point in the the future, although it would not be drawn on when this might be.

However, it did reveal that a major flood relief channel for the town is a long-term possibility - if the proposed £1bn reservoir between Abingdon and Wantage is built.

The reservoir, which would be built on farmland between Drayton and East and West Hanney, would be half the size of Lake Windermere. If approved, it is unlikely to be completed before 2020.

Malcolm Moor, of South Abingdon Floodplain Action Group, said: "The scoring system means we don't get funding.

"Places like Tewkesbury and Hull are very high up - but Abingdon is very important as the floods affected the whole of the town."

Town councillor Samantha Bowring, who was flooded out of her home in Turberville Close, insisted that the work should be funded.

She said: "It's a great deal of concern. I know the Environment Agency had its funding cut, but it beggars belief if you think of all the places that have been flooded.

"I really think the Government should make the money available.

"We are talking about millions of pounds, but in the grand scheme of things it is not that much. So many homes, businesses and farms are bearing the costs which far outweigh the cost of the Government funding the scheme."

Town councillor Tim Oates said: "A scoring system is used and we are lower than places like Tewkesbury, which was badly affected and obviously is deserving of priority, but that doesn't make residents in the affected areas feel better.

"It's a priority matter and it should be high up on the Government's radar and more money should be allocated."

Despite the fact that the EA is not submitting a bid for funding for its flood prevention options, it is still planning to consult the public on these options.

It is expected that the public consultation will start in the next three months.