A PROPOSED relief road should be used to solve Witney’s flood problems, claim campaigners.

The West End link road would incoporate a two-metre-high flood barrier, protecting nearby homes and preventing Bridge Street from being submerged during heavy rainfall, according to the Witney Anti-Flood Group.

The group said the road, which would link Woodford Way and West End with a new River Windrush crossing, would be its preferred flood defence method.

In a statement, the group said: “In times of heavy rainfall this would allow water to be held upstream of Witney in the undeveloped rural areas.

“Such a barrier would have the effect of allowing flood waters to be let through only at a rate that the Bridge Street bridge could handle.

“We believe this barrier needs to be built whether or not the West End link road goes ahead.”

In its Witney Flood Alleviation report in April, the Environment Agency said it was open to investigating the possibility of the dual role, but added just building a flood embankment, estimated to cost £2.2m, would not be finacially viable.

Some 230 homes and businesses around Bridge Street were flooded after torrential rain in July 2007 caused a surge in water levels.

Oxfordshire County Council, the lead flooding authority, hopes the link road would be funded by developer contributions from the Witney North development, included in the district council’s draft Local Plan.

The development has been opposed by residents in North Witney and Hailey, who believe it would cause traffic and surface water flooding problems.

They also believe the link road should be built further to the west of the town, where more housing has been built.

Hailey Parish Council chairman Graham Knaggs said: “We would welcome spending money on flooding issues but we think, from a traffic perspective, it should be upstream from the proposed West End link road.

“It will make little difference to solving the flooding problems but it will be more beneficial to help traffic issues.”

The county council is currently consulting on its draft local flood risk management strategy, which sets out a five-year action plan to reduce flood risks.

The district council has yet to give a recommendation, but cabinet member for communities Richard Langridge, who represents Witney North for both the district and county councils, does not want the link road.

He said: “Protecting the centre of Witney is very important but we have to be very careful about putting a great big road right across the flood plain.

“I don’t think Witney North is deliverable because of the infrastructure and anti-flooding measures it would need, which is a cost too high.

“The EA always says there aren’t enough homes affected to warrant the expenditure but you try telling that to people whose homes were flooded. It needs to put in some money.”

Environment Agency spokeswoman Hayley Willoughby said the only scheme it would be willing to fund was property-level protection, which includes practical solutions like using garage and driveway barriers, airbrick covers and waterproofing external walls.

She said councils and community groups could help with funding, and added: “We are now working on a detailed business case, which may involve a combination of these sources to enable a scheme to progress.”