Villagers build 'leaky dams' in the fight against flooding

Villagers build 'leaky dams' to fight flooding Image caption, Bloxham residents are taking flood prevention into their own hands By Lilah Parsons in Bloxham Published 9 hours ago Volunteers in an Oxfordshire village are building natural timber barriers in a bid to protect their community from future flooding. At least 62 properties in Bloxham were damaged during Storm Bert in November 2024, according to the parish council. Judith Macfarlane, 53, a Bloxham resident whose home was flooded during the storm, said it had been "pretty devastating".

She is one of around a dozen volunteers helping to construct the "leaky woody dams" in The Slade, a nature reserve on the edge of the village. "There was so much water kind of pouring off the surrounding hills," she said. "Our cellar got flooded with four foot of water, and our neighbours were much worse affected because it came up into the main body of the house." Image caption, Judith Macfarlane's home was flooded during Storm Bert in 2024 The dams are a form of natural flood management that involve securing large branches or tree trunks across small waterways to slow the flow of water downstream, with the hope of reducing flooding.

"It does feel like taking a little bit of control," said volunteer Simon Townsend, 53, who has lived in the village for about 20 years. "You feel like you never really get ahead of it… and then you realise that it's going to happen again unless something does get done." Image source, SOPHIE RAVAL Image caption, Storm Bert caused an estimated £2m worth of damage to Bloxham village in 2024 In the aftermath of Storm Bert, the village set up a flood working group, chaired by parish councillor Neil Hegarty.

"Storm Bert really assailed the village from multiple sides," he told BBC Oxford. "There were a number of people who moved out of their house and had to stay somewhere else for periods of up to about 18 months. "There were properties that incurred renovation costs of about £200,000." The group has received a £9,000 grant from Oxfordshire County Council to fund the work. Image caption, The "leaky dams" are designed to slow water flow, allowing it to seep through and spill onto the floodplain during heavy rainfall The project is one of a number of schemes now being considered to help protect the village from future flooding.

"This group of volunteers is a very, very strong starting point for what we want to achieve," said Neil Hegarty. "Each scheme by itself is not going to dramatically change the situation, but each will make a difference." For resident Simon, it was heart-breaking to see people losing "a good deal of everything they have, and not just once, but repeatedly". "And that's reason enough to be doing this really, you feel part of the community," he added.

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