Now Nathan Ley, Oxfordshire County Councillor for Abingdon North, has shared with constituents how to fix their own flooded streets before turning to the council for help.
The councillor says residents should start by checking their flood risk, signing up for free flood alerts and reporting blocked drains, ditches and watercourses to the appropriate authority.
He also encourages people to clear gutters and drains where it is safe to do so and understand whether they have any responsibilities for nearby watercourses.
He cited drains blocked by leaves – previously cleaned up by council workers – as a major contribution to flooding.
Nathan Ley is calling on residents to become more involved in their communities.
This includes volunteering as flood wardens, engaging with local councillors and scrutinising planning applications to ensure drainage arrangements are suitable and properly maintained.
The article also argues for greater pressure on decision-makers to deliver larger flood prevention projects.
Residents are encouraged to hold councils, the Environment Agency and government bodies accountable for recommendations made after flooding incidents and to campaign for more investment in flood defences and upstream water storage schemes.
It should be noted that if the council is not the landowner it will not undertake works to fix flooding issues, but it is still the council’s responsibility to investigate land owners who are responsible for floods, not residents.
Oxford City Council is also responsible for ensuring land it owns doesn’t flood and investigating land owners whose land frequently floods.
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Flooding near the Abingdon Tesco Extra store in January this year. (Image: Alastair Fear)
Nathan Ley also says flooding should be viewed not only as an environmental issue but also as a vital infrastructure challenge, urging people to raise the subject with councillors, MPs and election candidates whenever possible.
A large amount of flooding is the council’s responsibility, with Oxfordshire County Council responsible for fixing drainage and flooding issues on roads across Oxfordshire.
The county council is also responsible for the management of flood risk from surface water, ground water and ordinary watercourses.
Nathan Ley wants residents to know how to fix flooded streets themselves (Image: Nathan Ley)
The work includes clearing vegetation from banks, removing silt from channels and keeping grilles clear where watercourses enter culverts.
The 2024 South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) explicitly says that surface-water flood risk needs equal weight to river flooding because of two linked pressures, increased rainfall intensity from climate change and increased impermeable land use from development.
It explains that in built-up areas intense rain can exceed drainage-network capacity, with water then travelling along roads, through properties and pooling in low areas.
In August he also insisted new developments weren’t to blame, with ponds and swales holding surface water, and if built properly these should hold water back and release it slowly.
He instead blamed the weather, claiming the recent decade has seen the weather from October to March 13 per cent wetter than the 1961 to 1990 period.
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