Storm Henk: Witney pub shuts and farmers demand action

The greatest impact was felt around the River Thames where business owners were counting the cost.

Sharon Busby, manageress of the Maybush pub at Newbridge, near Witney, said water from the river began entering the building on Thursday night (January 4).

She said: "The water started seeping through the floor and was squelching round the decking.

“There’s no major damage, we lost a bit of furniture and we’ve got the furniture piled up now.

“We’ve been closed for a couple of days because of the high water level which is too close to the drains. We can’t trade without toilets as it’s a health and safety issue.

But she added: "Yes, we're fed up, but it wasn’t as bad as the February 2021 floods. The top of the pub and the kitchen are fine.

“It happens on a frequent basis, but we have flood defences and pumps. It’s been worse in the past.

"I feel for people who had water in their homes. We managed to avoid that.”

Craig Rose, manager of the Rose Revived on the opposite side of the bridge over the Thames, said water had come into the garden but not the building.

“We’ve got flood defences so we got the sandbags and flood gates out,” he said.

Edith Cameron, who owns Cotswold Canoe Hire in Lechlade, shared footage of her business where flood water was moving in “strong currents”.

She said: “I tried to empty the water, but realised there was no point because as soon as I got rid of water in one location, it would just come back up through the floor.”

She said it was still “completely flooded” on Saturday, adding: “It’s really sad. It’s devastating.

“It’s going to take quite a while for us to even think about clearing up as the water level is so high.”

A farmer saw his fields flooded for the seventh time in two years.

Ollie Stobo, who farms 500 acres of land at Stonesfield, said: “We had 60 acres under water and it’s stopped us from planting our autumn crop. If it doesn’t dry out we won’t be able to plant again until September.

“We had sheep marooned in a field. We got them out a few days before the water reached its height because the river levels were rising so quickly.

"It’s started to recede and it's a waiting game now."

Mr Stobo, a third generation arable farmer, faces a significant loss of profit and said initiatives such as creating wetland habitats to take the River Evenlode's flood waters would take too long to have an effect.

He wants immediate action from the Environment Agency.

“If they dredged and cleared the rivers like they used to the water would run out but they seem to not to do that so it stays in the countryside and we’re not getting compensated for it," he said.

However, he remains determined not to give up.

“We just want the policy makers to make the right decision," he said.

Around Witney there was flooding in Crawley with some flood water on Dry Lane although roads remained passable.

Crawley parish councillor Mark McCappin said Thames Water had sent lorries to the pumping station in the village to prevent sewage overspill into the river.

He said: "We have had tankers in the village every day in the last few weeks.

"In the last few days there may have been some blockage in the sewer in Dry Lane and the manholes beside some properties have been full and overflowing."

But, he said, Thames Water is investigating.

There was flooding in fields around Witney and residents at risk around Bridge Street put out sandbags and flood gates to protect their properties and Hailey Road was flooded for a time although the water later subsided.

It caused some residents to raise concerns about plans for new homes in flooded areas.

Priscilla Clayton shared pictures of flood water in fields in Minster Lovell where Catesby Strategic Land Ltd is appealing against the council's refusal of its application to build 134 homes.

She said: "I took photos from my house, looking into the field where proposed plan is. You can clearly see the surface water in the field and puddles in my garden.

"We’ve not been able to mow our lawn since the beginning of October as the ground has been soggy for the last three months."

Lidia Arciszewska, West Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for environment, said the EA flood zone maps show there are some properties at risk of river flooding in the centre of Witney, only as a consequence of "very significant flood events" such as in 2007 and in 2020. 

She said: "Facing the onset of climate change and increasing probability of flood events, WODC have engaged with the Environment Agency and Oxfordshire County Council to ensure that Witney is fully considered for a flood defence scheme that would provide appropriate flood protection.

"The current level of defence is provided by the existing floodplains, periodic maintenance of the river Windrush and the use of sandbags."

She added: "Ultimately, a preferred way of dealing with flooding is to ‘slow’ rivers and streams down by developing Natural Flood Management Schemes upstream," adding that the council is already working with partners on these.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said since 2015 more than 850 flood defence projects have been completed, protecting homes, infrastructure and more than 700,000 acres of agricultural land while £25million has been allocated to a new natural flood management scheme.