COMMUNITY and military leaders have welcomed flood alleviation work to protect Bampton, Brize Norton and RAF Brize Norton.

The existing drainage in the area is unable to cope with storm water running off from north-east Carterton and has caused flooding.

Work has now started on a new ditch which will divert water away from the watercourse and into an under-used balancing pond.

The £6,000 scheme, which has been led by West Oxfordshire District Council, was funded by an Environment Agency grant.

Thames Water, which owns the pond, only recently gave Oxfordshire County Council the go-ahead to begin work.

Brize Norton Parish Council chairman Keith Glazier said: “Brize Norton has experienced serious flooding since 2002.

“One resident in the village has been flooded out three times and has had to leave his house for six months in the past.

“This happened before the great flood of July 20, 2007, and the primary cause of the problem was the building of the Shilton Park development.

“This new work will definitely help alleviate the problem.

“But we now have major concerns about the possibility of new development to the north and west of Brize Norton village, which may undo the good work that has already been carried out.”

West Oxfordshire District Council is currently deciding where to build homes in the district and could choose a site around Carterton – either west, east or north of the town – to take up to 1,000 new houses.

Group Captain Dom Stamp, RAF Brize Norton station commander, said: “We did have an incident of flooding about four years ago. Since then we have worked closely with the community and local farmers, who have done a great deal of work clearing out drainage ditches.”

He said the new scheme was a “brilliant” addition to the work already done.