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Oxfordshire County Council has approved a motion put forward by the Green group calling for urgent investment in flood management, green infrastructure and heat adaptation.
The motion, introduced by Green councillor James Barlow, received unanimous support at a full council meeting.
Councillor Barlow said: “The issue of community resilience affects us all. The Oxfordshire Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment makes sobering reading for all of us.”
The Green group called for pilot schemes to test the effectiveness of these approaches in specific areas, along with a long-term investment strategy to enable forward planning and delivery.
Councillor Barlow warned that the scale of the challenge goes beyond council budgets: “…it is clear that OCC alone doesn’t have the capital or revenue budgets to build sufficient community resilience. We, as councillors, need to work together, in our communities, to find creative solutions with residents and businesses, who like us, actively care about where they live and work. Whilst acting to be prepared is not yet a statutory duty, our residents can’t afford for us to wait until it is.”
The motion was seconded by Councillor Robin Jones, who said: “Look at our own doorstep here in Oxfordshire. Since 2007, our county has faced 18 separate, significant flood events. Our highway drains, our culverts and our transport systems were built for a climate that no longer exists.
It is time to stop the frantic, blind running. It is time to look down, acknowledge the reality of the crisis beneath our feet, and build the structural resilience, flood defences and green infrastructure we desperately need before the ground disappears entirely.”
