New flood channel provides relief for Chalgrove residents

People in an area of Chalgrove can rest a little easier now that their homes are better protected from potential flooding.

A new 520m long flood relief channel has been installed at Langley Field Farm to help protect homes and infrastructure along Mill Lane.  The area has suffered from flooding on a number of occasions, most recently in 2014.

When levels are high, or there’s heavy rainfall, water will now flow away from the residential area and re-join the existing watercourse downstream, well away from local properties.

The £155,000 project was led by South Oxfordshire District Council, with collaboration from the local landowner and significant financial contributions from Oxfordshire County Council and the Government’s six-year flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme, which is managed by the Environment Agency. 

Cllr Sue Cooper, Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate Change and Nature Recovery, at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “I’m very pleased that this long-awaited work is now complete, and I hope that it gives peace of mind to people living in the Mill Lane area that their homes will be much better protected from now on.

“This project has been a real demonstration of how councils can work together to improve people’s lives as we look to meet the challenge of our changing climate and more extreme weather.”

Cllr Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “We are seeing the real impact of climate change here in Oxfordshire, and it is vital that we provide resilience to mitigate against it. This flood channel will help provide security for these residents, who have lived in fear of flooding for many years, at a time when instances of extreme weather are becoming more frequent.”

Cllr David Turner, district council ward member for Chalgrove, who has campaigned for improved flood protection in the area, said: “I’m very pleased that the new flood relief channel is now in place.  I’m sure residents in the Mill Lane will feel a little more at ease now that their homes are now much better protected if local water levels rise.”