Battle to find enough money for flood alleviation scheme

A business case for the four-mile flood channel through Oxford is due to be submitted at the beginning of next year but a committee of council leaders and other public bodies warned the funding gap was "significant".

With £84m already secured and designers appointed Oxfordshire County Council deputy leader Rodney Rose said the project had come "too far to turn back" and called on businesses impacted by flooding to get it over the line.

Thames Water told The Oxford Times it was committed to contributing up to £3m and the Environment Agency said negotiations to obtain to the rest were ongoing.

But Oxfordshire Growth Board moved to the scheme to 'amber' status and has asked the EA to provide details of the negotiations.

Mr Rose said: "We still have a bit more funding to raise for the project.

"We would like to think businesses that have experienced the impacts of flooding and maybe suffered losses would therefore contribute a bit to the pot.

He added: "I would rather the project have amber status to highlight that we need to raise the funds and I hope businesses in Oxford will think about whether they should contribute as a result."

It has been two years since David Cameron visited Oxford to announced £42m worth of funding to the scheme - taking the tally to £84m - but no further funding has been sourced since.

Oxford University previously declined to offer financial help but has allowed free use of its land at Egrove Park in Kennington which would make up part of the channel.

Network Rail's work to install culverts under the track at Hinksey was amended to enable the channel to pass across the railway line also shaved millions off the cost.

For the Treasury to approve the business case, due to be submitted next month, all funding has to be secured.

But Rodney Rose said local councils and partners had given all they could afford and turned his attention to businesses.

Joint chairman of traders' group ROX Jeremy Mogford suspected businesses would not be inclined to financially support the scheme in the current climate.

He said: "We are being seriously hammered at the moment by a number of things including business rates and you also have the county council talking about a tax on employees parking in the city as well as a congestion charge.

"Business in Oxford is no longer a golden goose for the council - it is more like a beige-coloured goose, and firms are feeling fairly disgruntled.

"While the flooding a few years ago, particularly to Abingdon Road, a few years ago did impact on business I can't see any firms coughing up."

Oxford Bus Company, one of the businesses in negotiations with the Environment Agency and the county council said it could not promise a contribution.

Managing director Phil Southall said: "We have been in conversation with the Environment Agency and Oxfordshire County Council regarding the flood relief channel, including providing them with some of our operating data.

"But we haven't yet seen a sound business case to make a contribution to the project, as the benefit to us would be negligible when you consider how often flooding is a problem on our network."

But Thames Water, one of the partners included in the scheme, conducted a review into the channel's benefits and has committed to financially help reach the target cost.

Spokeswoman Becky Trotman said: "We are committed to making a contribution to the scheme and have previously told those behind it that we’re prepared to make a contribution of between £1m and £3m.

"We have since carried out our own studies on the potential benefits of the scheme and also had discussions with the Environment Agency on our findings.

"As a result of this, we remain committed to making it happen."

Communications officer at the Environment Agency, Gauri Desai, said: "We have been working on securing contributions and will reveal the details once the contracts have been signed.

"All the scheme partners remain committed to working together to ensure the funding can be found."