Oxfordshire County Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for the county. This means we are required to create a strategy to tackle local flood risks, involving flooding from surface water, ordinary watercourses and groundwater.

In carrying out our role we have a number of key responsibilities, these include:

• Developing, maintaining and putting in place a Local Flood Risk Management Strategy for Oxfordshire which will include risks from surface water run-off, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. Update: Following the publication of the new National Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy in July 2020, the Council is expecting to receive updated local strategy guidance in 2021 from the Environment Agency/ DEFRA. A comprehensive update of the strategy is likely to follow in 2022.
• Establishing local management and governance arrangements with other key stakeholders to ensure delivery of effective joined up management of flood risk.
• Being a statutory consultee on all major planning applications with surface water drainage implications.
• Fulfilling the requirements of the EU Floods Directive by completing a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment.
• Preparing Surface Water Management Plans for areas of greatest risk.
• Establishing and maintaining a register of flood risk management assets with a record of each structure, together with details of ownership and state of repair and where appropriate the designation of such structures or features, which may affect a flood risk.
• Investigating flooding incidents, to the extent we consider necessary, in order to understand their cause and ensure that appropriate agencies play their role in the effective management of flooding incidents and recovery.
• Co-ordinating flood risk management across the county.