Sir - The acquisition of demountable flood barriers for Osney Island by the Environment Agency (EA), (Report, February 22) is a very welcome development.

The particular barriers chosen have been very effective elsewhere and, importantly, in the case of Osney they can be stored at the nearby EA depot.

As you rightly point out in your editorial, however, other areas still lack any protection. While Osney was badly affected last July, areas such as the Abingdon Road and Botley Road in Oxford, and nearby Wytham and South Hinksey, have been flooded no fewer than three times in the past seven years.

While solutions for these areas are more complicated than in the case of Osney, they are also urgently needing of protection. The county council has recently begun work on a new culvert to help Duke and Earl Streets. Again, this is of course welcome: we hope that it will be only the first of many improvements over the next 12 months. We'll be doing all we can to help maintain the momentum.

Peter Rawcliffe, Andy Webber, Richard Thurston, Simon Collings, Nick Hills and Mike Hamblett, Oxford Flood Alliance