Banbury flood funding is safe

[Josher]

Wow ... major stuff involved here ... Oxford Times

 

THE ENVIRONMENT Agency has confirmed £9m has been ring-fenced to take Banbury town centre out of a flood risk zone.

 

The move comes after a host of projects across Oxfordshire were put under review or shelved by the agency amid spending cuts by the Coalition Government.

 

But Banbury’s scheme is on target and the next hurdle for the £13m bund scheme will be a decision from a public inquiry over compulsory purchase orders for land at the site, which is expected soon.

 

In a joint initiative, the Environment Agency, Cherwell council and businesses have pledged the money to fund a giant earth dam on land between the M40 motorway and Daventry Road. A multi-million pound scheme to regenerate canalside area in the town centre is dependent on the bund being built.

 

Kieron Mallon, leader of Banbury Town Council, said: “The Canalside regeneration is crucial for Banbury and the flood alleviation is the key element to the whole scheme.

 

“This now means the centre of Banbury will be turned into something we can all be proud of.

 

“A large part of determining that the scheme would go ahead was because there was local money involved.”

 

In the past 12 years Banbury town centre has been severely flooded twice — once in 1998, and again in 2007 after a day of torrential rain across the county. During the July 2007 floods, the river and canal merged into one waterway and the Spiceball sports centre, the Mill Arts Centre, railway station and the bus station were up to four feet under water.

 

In December 2008, the recently demolished sports centre — which has been re-built on stilts nearby — was inches away from flooding again.

 

Environment Agency spokesman Dave Ferguson said: “The money is there. We have put aside £9m, which comes from local levy funding. We are still very keen to see Banbury happen.

 

“Banbury is an expensive scheme, so we are still looking for contributions from elsewhere. Hopefully we will get planning permission and then we can start to shore up the rest of the funding and take the scheme forward.”

 

Local levy funding is a pot of about £10m collected from council tax annually in each region and spent on local schemes. The Environment Agency said it could not reveal which local businesses were contributing to the scheme and warned at this stage their £2m was not guaranteed.

 

Michael Gibbard, Cherwell’s portfolio holder for planning and housing, said: “We are fully committed to providing this vital scheme which is why we still have £2m earmarked in our capital budget.”

 

If the scheme is approved, preliminary work could start by the end of the year, with main work starting next spring.

 

l Last year Cherwell District Council unveiled a masterplan for the 45-acre canalside site. It could see 1,200 new homes, shops and a school built at the site, between Bridge Street, Cherwell Street and the railway line.

 

The blueprint includes open space, pedestrian and cycle routes and footbridges over the canal and railway.

 

There will also be two multi-storey car parks on either side of the railway, providing 1,000 spaces.

 

Canalside is currently owned by about 50 different landlords, and houses small and medium sized industrial units.

 

The site is also home to Banbury Town Football Club — some businesses and the football club would have to relocate if the proposal goes ahead.