Flooding Alerts & Road Closures

Above are some local photographs I took on Friday when I walked around the village to check on the state of the Letcombe Brook and the balancing ponds by the Old Mill Hall.  We were predicted a weekend of rain and winds which have taken their toll on the local roads (see below).  I visited some residents in Kingfishers and Cane Lane who had contacted me because they were concerned about the possibilities of future flooding after they had been previously hit in July 2007.

The situation remains the same today, though the brook forms one of the many tributaries into the River Thames which remains on flood alert.  However, there is a flood warning in place for the main river in Abingdon, Culham and further afield where much of this water ends up! You can see full details on the Environment Agency Website here or you can ring the Floodline 0845 988 1188 if you are concerned.

Full details of road closures are to be found at the County Council website where there is other useful information available and this is being frequently updated.  The A417 is closed locally at Mellors Garage at Challow due to flooding and as you can see from the photo below, there is flooding on the A338 Grove Road near to MacDermid just before the turn to Charlton.  Cars are however still driving through this (some at speed) as I was delightfully splashed as I took this photo!  This is caused by run-off from the local fields and I have been trying to get this sorted by having the gullies cleared.  However, despite this having been done last year, the situation returns!