OXFORD will learn on Friday whether a major scheme to prevent flooding on its major roads has cleared the latest hurdle.

The Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, which is made up of councils along the River Thames, will meet in Wandsworth to allocate about £12m of funding and also decide whether it believes the Western Conveyance should be included in Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ six-year plan.

Oxfordshire County Council is keen to go ahead with the £123m Western Conveyance scheme, which would run from Seacourt Stream north of Botley Road to Sandford Lock and divert water around Oxford.

Rodney Rose, the deputy leader of the county council, said: “The Western Conveyance will protect the Oxfordshire economy. There is a lot of money going into research and everything else but if we tell the world that Oxford is closed for business for one week of the year then they won’t come here. We have got a scheme which is ready to go so I hope I can make the case for it.”

About £50m of funding has already been earmarked for the scheme – which would be as wide as the River Thames.

Both the county council and Oxford City Council have agreed to put funding towards the scheme and a flood summit was held last month to get other organisations on board.