PROJECTS that could protect Abingdon from being wrecked by rainwater are finally gathering pace almost a decade after devastating floods.

The Environment Agency announced on Friday that its plans to build a flood wall at St Helen's Mill should become reality by the end of March, when a wider scheme to tackle River Ock flooding will also be decided on.

The EA is working with Vale of White Horse District Council to research flood alleviation in Abingdon, years after freak floods in July 2007 affected 661 homes in the town.

Richard Webber, chairman of the Ock Valley Flood Group, said: "We welcome the scheme but there is a feeling of 'it's about time'. This has all taken so darn long to happen, so I'll believe it when it's actually happening.

"The EA originally said the 2007 floods were a one-in-however-many-hundred chance of happening, but there have been two or three close calls since then. It's a worry, with global warming as well – do we need to crank things up?"

Residents have raised concerns in the past that the EA's £120m Oxford Alleviation Channel which is planned to take water away from the city centre, could push flooding problems towards Abingdon.

But Vale council leader Matthew Barber said: "I have been convinced that the Oxford works won't increase flooding risk downstream.

"There was a big push to make it the Oxford and Abingdon Flood Alleviation Scheme, to make sure these areas are given the priority they deserve given the significant number of properties that really suffered in the past.

"All this is moving forward a lot faster than first thought."

The district council set aside £2m to contribute to the cost of the scheme, though the EA did not confirm how much it expects the Abingdon projects to cost.

Town councillor Samantha Bowring, whose home was uninhabitable for a year after being deluged in 2007, is worried that the wall at St Helen's Mill could also push the problem downstream.

She said: "I am hopeful and welcome anything that will help, but I just feel sceptical. The water has got to go somewhere."

The EA demolished a bridge at St Helen's Mill in 2009 as part of flood prevention works, which Mrs Bowring said improved her house's flood risk by two categories.

She said she was "hopeful" about new scheme, adding: "It's incredible, the damage flooding does. It's just so surreal when you look around, then when the water goes it's just ruined."

Surveys are currently being carried out at St Helen's Mill to determine the design of the wall, and updated flood modelling on the River Ock is undergoing checks.

The EA will then decide what exactly to do at the River Ock, and hopes to announce its preferred plan by March.