DRIVERS have been warned their vehicles could be ‘swept away’ as plans were lodged to extend Oxford’s Seacourt Park-and-Ride into the floodplain.

Proposals for an extra 650 spaces have been put forward by Oxford City Council, but a flood risk assessment warned the new section of car park would be built in a ‘high risk’ flood area.

Oxford City Council played down the risk, but an ‘emergency evacuation plan’ has already been drawn up, which includes using social media to warn drivers their cars could be in danger.

The Botley Road site has closed in two of the last four winters due to heavy flooding, with many cars left stranded in November and December 2012.

The council said the additional spaces were urgently needed. The Botley Road facility is regularly full and more than 2,000 extra journeys into the city are predicted once the Westgate development opens next year.

Park-and-ride users criticised the ‘bizarre’ decision, while flood campaigners called for measures to be put in place to mitigate the knock-on effect downstream.

Drivers could even need to check social media for any warning of an imminent flooding threat but would only be able to drive away if it was safe to do so.

The council’s director of regeneration and housing, David Edwards, said the risk was ‘much the same’ as that of the existing car park which it had managed successfully for 30 years and that the expansion was ‘important in supporting the city’s economy’.

The council revealed it had conducted a search of 118 sites to the west of the city but that only an expansion of the existing car park at Seacourt – which was severely flooded in 2012 and 2014 – was deemed suitable.

Transport consultant and regular commuter Mark McArthur Christie said: “It all seems very bizarre and not very well thought through. 

“With the flooding in the past at the site it is an obvious concern, and we will have to see whether it will put people off – although it is a problem that has been handled in the past. I’m sure it will help congestion but with thousands more homes and jobs to be created in the coming years it will only be like sticking a plaster on the problem – and of course it could increase flood risk elsewhere.”

Mia Ball, who has used the park-and-ride and protested against increased park-and-ride fares in 2011, said: “Considering Botley Road floods and the council knows that there is flooding in the area it does seem like a poor decision.

“Drivers are not going to appreciate returning to their cars to find flooding, that’s for sure.”

The scheme would see the existing park-and-ride increase from 794 spaces to 1,452 and was initially consulted on in October 2015 and plans were submitted last week after prolonged discussions with the Environment Agency.

The plans also predicted an extra 2,116 daily journeys into Oxford once the £440m Westgate development opens in October 2017.
The assessment, produced by consultancy firm WYG, said: “The extension to the park-and-ride could flood to sufficient depths to cause vehicles to be swept away in extreme events.

The evacuation plan seeks to eliminate the chance of vehicles being caught in floods, however consideration should still be given to putting measures in place to prevent vehicles from being swept beyond the site boundary.” 
The flood risk assessment also warned that the extension could ‘cause flooding both within the site and to downstream watercourses if not managed and controlled’. 

Oxford Flood Alliance chairman Peter Rawcliffe, said they were concerned about the floodplain. 

He said: “We are concerned with land being taken out of the flood plain as it displaces water elsewhere and would like to see a proper maintenance plan put in place for the future. 

“There’s a chance it could work just as long as it doesn’t increase flood risk but we need to fully look at the plans first.”

The public can have their say on the plans until December 1.