Funding has been secured for a £120 million flood alleviation scheme in Oxford.

The development will include at least five hectares of new habitat creation, seven new bridges and 2.6kms of new defences to reduce flood risk to homes, businesses, and transport in Oxford and the surrounding area.

With more then £65m already committed by the Government, funding totalling over £55m has now been secured with a wide range of partners including Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, Thames Water Utilities and the University of Oxford. The total amount covers the design and construction costs to deliver the scheme.

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An outline business case for the scheme was approved by HM Treasury in November 2017. With full funding now confirmed, the project team will now work on the Full Business Case, which will be submitted to HM Treasury later this year.

A planning application for the scheme will be submitted by the Environment Agency in March. It will take approximately three years to build.

Joanna Larmour, Project Director at the Environment Agency, said: "This is a huge scheme – one of the biggest the Environment Agency is working on – and when complete it will not only reduce flood risk to homes across Oxford but it will also protect vital infrastructure, enabling the city to keep moving during flooding. It will also benefit communities and wildlife in a number of ways, including improving existing public footpaths and creating new habitat for wildlife and improving biodiversity."

Council Leader Susan Brown said: "The Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme will bring huge benefits to householders in West and South Oxford, and to all parts of the business community. I am delighted that we have been successful in our application for this final tranche of funding."

(LM)