A PLAN to build 31 homes on a flooded field looked to residents like a damp squib yesterday.

As 11 rivers in Oxfordshire were put on flood alert and roads were closed due to flooding, neighbours in Steventon said: “we told you so”.

Steventon parish councillor Carole Denton, who lives next to the flooded field in School Close, called the idea of building houses on the site “ridiculous”.

She said: “It has been completely flooded since before Christmas. This latest rain has just topped it up.

“The field is always flooded. Anyone who lives here knows that.”

Linden Homes was given planning permission by Vale of White Horse District Council in August but yesterday declined to comment on the soggy field.

Since Wednesday, more than 16mm of rain has fallen on Oxfordshire.

Met Office spokesman Nicola Maxey said: “Even a small amount falling on already sodden ground has nowhere to go.”

The Environment Agency (EA) yesterday had 11 flood alerts in place for county rivers, including the Thames from Faringdon to Henley.

Five roads were closed due to flooding, including Lower Road at Islip and London Lane in Ascott-under-Wychwood.

An Environment Agency spokesman said last night there were no plans to put up any flood barriers over the weekend.

More rain is expected to fall today and tomorrow afternoon through to Monday morning.

Chairman of Oxford Flood Alliance Peter Rawcliffe said yesterday: “I think it’s looking pretty good at the moment. The levels are rising again a bit at the moment but unless we get a lot of heavy rain we should be out of the woods.”

He said the situation had been hugely helped by a series of new flood defence systems in place across the county including at Munday’s Bridge in Kennington and up-river in Oxford.