Oxfordshire community flood projects awarded £500k of funding
Last year's inaugural scheme awarded £250,000 for small-scale work tackling flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses.This year's recipients include city, district, parish and town councils, schools, wildlife organisations, the National Trust and residents' flood groups.The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is to receive two grants to carry out natural flood management and other work – one at Carswell Marsh near Faringdon and another at Little Milton, in association with the parish council.BBOWT senior reserves officer Daniel Akam said the Hasley Brook watercourse had been "altered historically to drain agricultural land more efficiently".
'Extreme weather'
He said that at Wells Farm, which is close to Little Milton, "much of the brook flows through woodland in a natural way and is allowed to spill over, making the woodland wet"."This already helps slow and store the water on the nature reserve and is of great benefit to the local wildlife," Mr Akam said."The funding will allow us to naturalise another section that was historically canalised and deepened."Judy Roberts, cabinet member for place, environment and climate action, said the quality of submissions "was extremely high"."This grant scheme... is a part of our drive to help residents take effective action to tackle flooding and extreme weather, which is being exacerbated by climate change," she added.
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