Banbury

• Where is Banbury?


  Banbury is in the cotswold hills about 50km north of Oxford. The population is about 45,000
• Flood watch:

  flooding of low-lying land and roads is expected, people should be prepared and watch river levels
• Flood warning:

  There is a threat to homes and businesses, people should move items of value to upper floors and to turn off electricity and water
• Severe flood warning:

  Extreme danger to life and property is expected, people should stay in an upper level of they home or leave the property.
• Why is there a problem at Banbury?

  Banbury is located on the floodplain of the river Cherwell- this is a tributary of the rive Thame. The geography and geology of the valley that the river Cherwell runs through makes Banbury particularly susceptible to flooding.
• What was the issue at Banbury?


  There has been a history of devastating floods.in Banbury. In 1998 and 2007 both experienced devastating floods.
• What were the effects of the 1998 flooding at Banbury?

  Closure of the towns railway station.

  £12.5 million dammage

  150 homes and businesses affected
• What has been done to help at Banbury?


  The environment agency are responsible for managing flood risk, the construction of a new defence scheme stated in 2011 and was completed in 2012. It had five major strategies to try and reduce the chances of flooding in the future
• Strategy 1 at Banbury:

  860 metres of the A361 was raised in the flood storage area and culverts (small tunnels) were added to improve the drainage beneath the road to reduce flooding.

  This reduces the flooding as it stops the road from flooding so people can still go to work/school
• Strategy 2 at Banbury:

  A pumping station was built at Moorfield Brook to transfer excess rainwater into the river downstream of the town.

  This reduces flooding by removing water from the river upstream and puts it back in downstream of Banbury.
• Strategy 3 at Banbury:

  Earth embankments and flood wallls were built, 2 metres high and 400 metres long. This embankment was designed to protect the industrial estate from flooding and specifically, a flood wall built around the site of Prodrive, a motorsport business.

  This protects valuable, economic land from flooding by increasing the capacity of the river channel.
• Strategy 4 at Banbury:

  A biodiversity action plan (BAP) was put in place to built new habitats, including ponds, trees and hedgerows provide greater interception and areas to absorb and store excess water to reduce flood risk.

  This reduces flooding as the increased interception reduces the overland flow and encourages more through flow, increasing the time it takes for the water to reach the river.
• Strategy 5 at Banbury:

  A new flood storage area has been created by building a 2.9km earth reinforcement parallel to the M40, it can hold 3 million cubic metres of water.

  This reduces the flooding by using the natural flood plain to store excess water, creating a reservoir and protecting the town from flooding.
• Social benefits of the scheme at Banbury:

  The raised A361 into Banbury will remain open in floods, reducing disruptiwonfor many people

  Quality of life has improved for people with new green areas and footpaths

  Reduced levels of anxiety or depression as there is a reduced flood risk
• Economic cost of the scheme at Banbury:

  the cost of the scheme equated to roughly £18.5 million
• Economic benefit of the scheme at Banbury:

  By protecting 441 houses and 73 businesses, their profits are estimated to beaver £100 million
• Environmental benefit of the scheme at Banbury:

  New biodiversity action plan created new habitats for the animals
• Environmental costs of the scheme at Banbury:

  Part of the flood plain will be allowed to deliberately flood if the river levels are too high

  10,000 tonnes of earth were needed for the embankment, to create the small reservoir