Over £500,000 in grants is being awarded to support nearly 40 community projects aimed at reducing flooding across Oxfordshire. The funding comes from Oxfordshire County Council’s priority action grants scheme, which received more than 80 applications earlier this year from groups and organisations working to boost local flood resilience. Grants of up to £25,000 are being provided to 39 selected schemes, subject to confirmation.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, highlighted the high quality of submissions and praised the commitment of local communities, noting that residents often have the best understanding of the flood challenges in their areas. This initiative, now in its second year, follows last year’s inaugural £250,000 funding round and is part of the council’s wider strategy to help communities combat the increasing threat of flooding and extreme weather caused by climate change.
This year’s recipients include city, district, parish and town councils, schools, wildlife organisations, the National Trust, and local flood groups in towns and villages such as Abingdon, Bicester, Witney, Oxford, Chinnor, Wheatley, and many more. Projects funded range from surface drainage improvements and natural flood management schemes to ditch clearance, culvert inspections, installation of water pumps, timber dams, flood sensors, and track repairs to prevent surface water flooding. Funding will also cover surveys, workshops, information materials, flood kits, and mapping to improve flood resilience.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) will receive two grants for work at Carswell Marsh and Little Milton. At Little Milton, the project will address flooding along the Hasley Brook, which has been altered in the past to drain agricultural land more quickly. These changes have increased downstream flooding during extreme weather events. The BBOWT plans to naturalise the brook by regrading steep canalised banks, installing permeable log dams, raising the brook bed with gravel riffles, and creating a new backwater to store floodwater. These measures will slow water flow, reduce flooding, improve habitats at Wells Farm, and enhance the ecological health of the Hasley Brook.
