Area 1
Rain falling ON Bloxham
Drain it efficiently.
- Keep drains and gullies clear
- Maintain drainage capacity
- Identify restrictions and pinch points (places where water flow is restricted or backs up)
- Allow rainfall on the village to get away
Independent community information · Bloxham, Oxfordshire
Keep drains clear.
Slow the flow.
Bloxham's flooding has multiple causes and needs multiple responses: keep village drainage working, slow some of the runoff arriving from the wider catchment, and help the community prepare for heavy rain.
Why this matters
Flooding is not new to Bloxham — and there is no single cause.
The Oxfordshire County Council Section 19 investigation recorded up to 35 properties flooded internally during Storm Bert in November 2024. Community information suggests around 65 properties were affected more broadly, although a precise total is not known; at least five vehicles were also badly affected.
The formal investigation describes a combination of intense rainfall and infrastructure issues, including silted highway drainage, blockages, poorly maintained channels and relief culverts, sewer surcharging and capacity constraints. Responsibilities and actions therefore sit across several organisations as well as the community.
Historical evidence shows that Bloxham has been wrestling with flooding, water and drainage for more than 150 years. Our aim is to reduce flood risk and severity and improve resilience — not to suggest that any one intervention can prevent every flood.
Preparing for the future
Plan for heavier rainfall, whatever your view of climate change.
Flood resilience is about managing risk. Bloxham needs measures that work for today's storms while allowing for the possibility of more intense rainfall in the decades ahead.
Why build in resilience?
UK climate projections indicate an increase in the frequency and intensity of weather extremes, including heavier rainfall. The Met Office notes that heavy summer rainfall is projected to become more intense, with implications for the frequency and severity of surface-water flooding.
The Environment Agency already requires climate-change allowances for peak rainfall intensity and peak river flows when assessing and designing for future flood risk. In practical terms, that means drainage, storage and flood-resilience measures should not be designed only around what has happened in the past.
You do not have to agree about the causes of climate change to prepare for flood risk. Whatever your view, heavier storms can overwhelm drains, increase runoff and flood homes. Our focus is therefore practical: improve drainage, slow the flow and make Bloxham more resilient to the rainfall it may experience in future.
Met Office: heavy rainfall and floods →
Environment Agency: climate change allowances for flood risk →
The Bloxham approach
Two areas. One objective.
Rain falling ON Bloxham needs to drain efficiently. Rain falling OUTSIDE the village in the wider catchment needs, where practical, to be slowed and temporarily stored.
BLOXHAM
Give the village drainage system time and capacity to cope.
Drain first · delay the peak · release later
Area 2
Rain falling OUTSIDE Bloxham
Slow the flow.
- Leaky woody dams
- Field bunds and swales
- Ponds, wetlands and temporary storage
- Release water more gradually after the storm peak
NFM is part of the solution, not the whole solution. The 2026 Thames21 feasibility work, supported by Oxfordshire County Council, identified about 3,535 m³ of potential temporary storage across the proposals studied. Its modelling estimated a runoff reduction of around 1.3% for an event similar to November 2024 and around 3.5% for an average significant storm. That is why Bloxham needs both effective village drainage and measures that slow some water arriving from upstream.
Flood alleviation programme
From evidence to action.
In progress
The Slade
Natural Flood Management work including leaky woody dams and flow-spreading measures.
Paused / alternatives
Courtington Lane / Workhouse Lane
The scheme is currently paused after previously unidentified utilities were found beneath the Bloxham School car park. Alternative solutions are now being investigated.
Design / funding
Western & northern catchment NFM
The 2026 feasibility work identifies potential temporary storage measures across participating land. Participation is voluntary and proposed measures need to work for the land as well as the wider catchment.
Latest updates
News & Progress.
Follow dated updates on Workhouse Lane, Natural Flood Management, The Slade and other flood-resilience work around Bloxham.
Programme history
How the work has developed.
Work has progressed from post-Storm Bert investigation and drainage clearance through partnership discussions, surveys, the 2026 NFM feasibility study and development of practical schemes at The Slade and elsewhere. The programme will continue to be updated as projects move from investigation to funding, design and delivery.
What residents can do
Prepare, report problems and reduce pressure during heavy rain.
Small actions will not solve flooding, but they can improve preparedness, reduce avoidable pressure on drainage and help keep people and property safer.
Oxfordshire Flood Toolkit
Practical Oxfordshire guidance to help residents prepare for flooding, protect property, understand flood risk and recover after a flood.
Sign up for flood warnings
Environment Agency flood warnings are free and can be sent by phone, text or email. They cover river, sea and groundwater flooding where the service is available; surface-water flooding can develop differently.
Report blocked drains and gullies
See a blocked drain or gully? Report it on FixMyStreet — photographs and an accurate location help.
During heavy rain
Avoid driving through floodwater wherever possible. If you do have to drive through shallow floodwater, proceed extremely slowly: vehicles can create bow waves that push water into nearby homes and businesses and make flooding worse. Consider delaying non-essential use of washing machines and dishwashers while the drainage system is under exceptional pressure.
After a flood: report it to OCC
After a flood, flooding should be reported to Oxfordshire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority so it can carry out a flood investigation where appropriate.
Hold back rain at home
Water butts capture roof runoff for later use. Permeable surfaces, planting and other measures that retain rainfall can also slow the rate at which water reaches drains.
Check Bloxham Brook
The Environment Agency gauge shows the latest measured level and recent trend. Never put yourself at risk to take photographs, clear a drain or measure floodwater.
During a flood: useful numbers
999 — immediate danger to life
Floodline: 0345 988 1188 — flood information and advice
Environment Agency incident hotline: 0800 80 70 60 — report a live flooding or environmental incident
Thames Water: 0800 316 9800 — sewer flooding
Stop Bloxham Flooding is a community information site, not an emergency warning service.
Working together
Working with landowners, not against them.
Much of the potential Natural Flood Management work is on privately owned farmland. Participation is voluntary and success depends on practical cooperation with the people who own and farm the surrounding land.
A shared infrastructure problem
NFM is one part of a much wider response. The Section 19 investigation identifies actions and responsibilities involving Oxfordshire County Council, Thames Water, Cherwell District Council, the Environment Agency, the Parish Council, residents and landowners. It would be misleading to suggest that runoff from farmland is the sole cause of Bloxham's flooding, or that farmers alone can solve it.
We are grateful to participating landowners for allowing surveys and discussing possible measures. The Thames21 work, supported by Oxfordshire County Council, deliberately anonymises individual holdings; this site will follow the same principle unless a landowner specifically wishes to be identified.
What participation can mean
NFM features can require land, long-term maintenance and practical commitments. Changes in land use can affect farm output, so proposals need to respect the economics and day-to-day operation of each holding.
Where suitable, funding can help with leaky dams, bunds, ponds, swales and land-management measures. Temporary NFM storage is not automatically a summer irrigation reservoir, but complementary winter-water storage may offer wider resilience benefits where regulation, design and funding allow.
Thank you. The NFM work has benefited from positive engagement by participating landowners and from the North East Cotswolds Farmer Cluster. We will continue to approach landowner discussions collaboratively and without identifying individual holdings unnecessarily.
Partners & contributors
A community asset supported by specialist organisations.
Stop Bloxham Flooding is an independent community asset. Flood-resilience work in Bloxham is supported by multiple agencies and organisations bringing statutory responsibilities, technical expertise, funding, land-management knowledge and local coordination.
Oxfordshire County Council
Lead Local Flood Authority and highways responsibilities, including drainage and the Section 19 investigation.
Visit OCC →Thames21
Catchment and Natural Flood Management expertise, including the 2026 Bloxham feasibility work, supported by Oxfordshire County Council.
Visit Thames21 →Environment Agency
Flood-risk, river and catchment expertise and official flood information services.
Visit the Environment Agency →North East Cotswolds Farmer Cluster
Farmer-led collaboration and landowner engagement supporting practical catchment work.
Visit the Farmer Cluster →BBOWT
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust — nature recovery, catchment and land-management expertise.
Visit BBOWT →Cherwell District Council
District-level responsibilities and support relevant to community flood resilience.
Visit Cherwell District Council →Bloxham Parish Council
Flooding Working Group activity, local coordination and published updates. This website remains an independent community resource rather than the Parish Council's official website.
See Parish Council flood updates →A nearby example
Learning from the Evenlode catchment.
The neighbouring Evenlode Catchment Partnership has used field storage bunds and leaky woody dams in rural Oxfordshire. During Storm Bert, a field bund above Milton-under-Wychwood held back about 1,700 m³ of floodwater, and the partnership reported that houses along Littlestock Brook did not flood on that occasion.
This is useful local evidence of NFM in practice, not a guarantee that identical measures will prevent flooding in Bloxham.
Explore Evenlode NFM →Evidence & documents
Read the evidence behind the programme.
Residents should be able to see the reports being used, their limitations and the evidence behind the proposed actions.
Section 19 Flood Investigation
Formal investigation into the November 2024 flooding, causes, responsibilities and recommended actions.
Read the report →Bloxham Natural Flood Management Report
Published June 2026. Assesses upstream NFM opportunities, potential storage and modelled reductions in runoff.
Read the report →Flooding Working Group updates
Minutes, progress reports and current local information.
Browse updates →Photographs & videos
A curated record of Storm Bert and recovery.
The public shortlist records the flood, immediate aftermath, damage, recovery and reinstatement. Captions will avoid unnecessarily identifying individual properties or streets, and privacy will continue to be reviewed before final publication.
View the flood media record →Historical archive
Learning from Bloxham's past.
Flooding, drainage and water management have been debated in Bloxham for more than 150 years. We are assembling old maps, drainage records, material on wells and pumps, photographs and newspaper reports into a properly sourced archive. Rather than publish empty categories, the archive will be added when there is enough material to make it useful.
About Stop Bloxham Flooding
A community asset for Bloxham.
Who is behind the site?
Stop Bloxham Flooding is an independent community asset intended to bring together clear information about flood risk, current work, evidence and practical action. Multiple agencies and organisations support flood-resilience work in Bloxham; their roles are listed in the Partners section above.
The site administrator is Jerry Wood.
Contact
Questions, corrections, local evidence and offers of help are welcome.
Email: stopbloxhamflooding@proton.me
The site is independent of Bloxham Parish Council, while recognising and linking to the Council's Flooding Working Group reports and activity.
Get involved
Could you help?
Residents can contribute technical expertise, observations, practical help, photography, research, administration or local knowledge.
Practical & technical help
Hydrology, drainage, engineering, surveying, mapping, ecology, data analysis or supervised practical activity such as work at The Slade.
Local observations
Help record where water comes from, which routes it takes, where drains struggle and what changes during severe rainfall.
Get in touch
You do not need to be a flood expert. Good observations, practical help and local knowledge all matter.
I would like to help →