FLOOD victims have called for the Environment Agency to provide more details of its £100m flood strategy for Oxford, which could see a channel as wide as the River Thames built in the west of the city.

Representatives from the EA spent three days meeting with members of the Oxford Flood Alliance, councillors and around 12 landowners at the West Oxford Community centre where they unveiled outline plans for the strategy.

The agency arranged the meetings to ask opinions on how best to engage people in a 12-week public consultation on the city’s flood risk strategy.

But flood alliance members were disappointed not to get more details on plans for the proposed channel which would run for approximately two miles and see water run underneath Botley Road to Redbridge before draining away downstream.

OFA member Peter Rawcliffe, whose house flooded in 2000, said: “I spent about 40 minutes talking to them. They presented an outline plan of the grand strategy, but I was slightly disappointed by the fact there wasn’t much detail.

“The talks were mainly centred around the channel. It was very interesting, but we need more detail to flesh it out.

“They haven’t quite decided where the channel could go yet.

“The idea of getting the water under Botley Road and away at Redbridge is excellent.

“It would be a massive undertaking for them, but I got the impression they hadn’t finalised their plans yet.

The EA expects to launch its 12-week consultation on February 18.

However, no construction would be expected to start on its grand strategy until 2013 if it is able to get funding for the scheme.

As well as the channel the EA is expected to consult the public on whether bunding could be built to protect the city or whether more temporary defences such as the £180,000 barriers bought to protect Osney Island should be used.

EA area projects manager Geoff Bell said: “I can understand why people want more detail, but that will come in the longer term.

“Whether the channel will be 15 metres wide or 30 metres wide in some points will be part of the public consultation.

“The detail isn’t there at this stage. We can’t have engineers working on something when we haven’t got the approval for it in principle.”

The EA also met members from the Oxford Preservation Trust to allay fears the channel — needed to move an estimated 40,000 litres of flood water a second — would spoil views of the city.

Mr Bell said: “One of the things we believe will help Oxford is this new channel, but it isn’t going to be a nasty, great concrete channel.

“We know we can construct it to look very nice and blend into the existing landscape.

“If we can reduce the risk of flooding and give people something nice and landscaped it’s a win-win situation.”

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk