DELAYED repairs to a damaged bank of the River Windrush are finally underway after engineers recommenced work.

The breach west of Woodford Mill, Witney, occurred back in summer 2018 and was due to be fixed last October in a £107,000 scheme funded by West Oxfordshire District Council.

But heavy rain last autumn and winter caused the water level and flow to rise, forcing works to be abandoned over safety concerns.

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May’s hot weather enabled the project to restart, with the bridge now closed until July 7 as engineers complete the project.

The council’s cabinet member for environment, Norman MacRae, is confident the end is in sight.

He said: “We were all ready to go and the funding was there, but what went against us was the weather.

“We’ve been waiting for an opportunity and May was a lovely dry month.

“We’ve now got the engineers there, but it’s not going to be an overnight job and will take several weeks.

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“The thing we have to bear in mind is the safety of the men in the river.

“We want to do it right and do it well.”

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The bank started leaking two years ago and later collapsed, leaving very little water flowing into a nearby weir and raising fears for wildlife.

After some confusion over who should carry out the repairs, it was found to be the district council’s responsibility last May.

The council gained a permit from the Environment Agency, but twice had to abort its repairs after the rain made the area too dangerous for workmen.

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The breach in June 2019 Picture: Ric Mellis

Engineers returned to the site last month and two temporary dams have been placed in the area to improve the water flow.

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The council have sourced an external firm for the work and Mr Macrae confirmed repairs would not exceed the £107,000 budget previously forecast.

Greg Peters, who lives nearby, has followed the saga closely and is relieved to see the end is in sight.

He said: “There was an awful lot of rain last year and the height of the river rose tremendously.

“It all went quiet as nothing could happen.

“Our concern was that the mill stream running through Woodford Mill was not flowing. It was dank, dark, still water.

“We’re really pleased that things are at last moving ahead.

“It’s quite a long time since a very small breach was first found - the sad thing was that something wasn’t actually done then.”