The UK government has approved a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme (OFAS), a planned system of flood defences along the River Thames intended to shield over 160,000 Oxford residents.
Recent floods in 2013, 2014 and 2024 damaged homes and businesses across Oxford and caused the closure of railways and roads into cities. More extreme flooding is expected in the future as a result of climate change, and thus the OFAS has been designed to be effective against overflows on the scale of the 1947 Thames flood.
The plan is to create a new stream through the floodplain to the west of Oxford that will prevent water from overflowing into the built-up area. This 5km stream will begin north of Botley Road and end south of the A423.
Improved footpaths and a new cycling path between Osney Mead and Devil’s Backbone in South Hinksey will be constructed alongside the stream and, where necessary, bridges will be built across it. The scheme will result in the creation of over 20 hectares of wetland habitat and around 16 hectares of floodplain meadow.
The Environment Secretary Steve Reed granted approval for the CPO, allowing the Environment Agency (EA) to buy the necessary land, earlier this month. Construction will begin in late 2026 and is expected to take five years to complete. The government plans to spend £2.65 billion on flood defences over the next two years.
The EA has estimated that the OFAS will cost £167 million in total. However, the Hinksey and Osney Environmental Group, who are opposing the form taken by the scheme, claim that this is a significant underestimate. They told Cherwell: “This budget was set 7 years ago. Since then inflation will have increased it to £217 million.”
Some ecologists fear that the project will damage acres of irreplaceable grassland in the Hinksey Meadow and will destroy around 4,000 mature trees in the West Oxford habitat corridor and green belt.
The Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: “The role of Government is to protect its citizens, but flood defences were inherited in their worst condition on record. The Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme is a vital new piece of infrastructure that will deliver economic growth in Oxfordshire, better protect homes and businesses and deliver new jobs.”
The OFAS told Cherwell: “The financial benefit of the scheme will far outweigh the cost of building the scheme – it will save over £1.6 billion by reducing flood damage and disruption.
“The scheme will significantly reduce the chance of road closures and disruption due to flooding. Flooding causes diversions and longer journey times which could impact the tens of thousands of people who commute into or travel through Oxford by bus or car every day.”
HOEG acknowledge the importance of building up new flood defences. They told Cherwell: “a flood scheme at Oxford offers huge benefits both national and local in keeping the railway safe and in maintaining Oxford as a centre of excellence. The issue we are finding is, while we share our proposals in the public interest, we get nothing back.”
In response to concerns raised by HOEG and other groups, OFAS told Cherwell: “We have done everything possible to minimise the impact of the scheme through Hinksey Meadow. We were able to reduce the impacted area to only 15% of the total MG4 grassland in the meadow.
“We will be creating 3 new areas of species rich floodplain meadow – more than doubling the existing area of MG4 (around 16 hectares, almost 40 football pitches). We have designed the scheme to work with the natural floodplain, blend into the existing landscape, and deliver additional environmental benefits to the area beyond reduced flood risk.”
 for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme (OFAS), a planned system of flood defences along the River Thames intended to shield over 160,000 Oxford residents.){kind=link}