Written question asked by Bill Wiggin (Conservative) on Tuesday, 11 October 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 13 October 2005. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 October 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Flood Defences (Oxfordshire)

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the flood mitigation measures on Lakes H and I at Radley Lakes, Oxfordshire; and whether measures are planned to improve the operation of the sluice gates there.

Answer: The Environment Agency is the principal authority responsible for flood risk management in England and, as part of this, advises local planning authorities on flood risk with respect to planning applications.A private company—RWE npower—is responsible for managing these lakes and for any flood mitigation measures associated with them. The Agency recently advised Oxfordshire county council on flood risk with respect to a planning application from RWE npower relating to Lakes H and I.Following discussion with the Agency, RWE npower revised their proposal to address Agency concerns, specifically on the ability of the lakes to store flood water and the sizing of flood relief pipes to allow flood water to pass into the lakes at a suitable rate to alleviate flooding in the Radley area.The Agency is not aware of any proposal to alter operation of the sluice gates.

Secondary information