Flooding Forces Oxford City Farm to Cancel Autumn Festival and Faces Ongoing Setbacks

Oxford City Farm has been significantly impacted by flooding following an unprecedented 90mm of rainfall in just 24 hours, forcing the difficult decision to cancel this year's much-anticipated Autumn Festival.

The farm experienced surface-level flooding that damaged planting beds and led to the loss of around 725kg of produce – a devastating hit valued at £4,200. With September’s average rainfall usually around 51mm, this sudden deluge caught the farm by surprise, overwhelming the local drainage system and causing widespread disruption for farm and their neighbours.

Nicole Titera, Farm Lead at Oxford City Farm, expressed the gravity of the situation:
"Our fields were submerged, and much of the produce we rely on to support local community projects was destroyed. We've been left with a significant financial burden, and our priority now is to rebuild and recover."

In light of the damage, the team has made the difficult decision to cancel the Autumn Festival, a seasonal event celebrating local produce and community spirit. The festival, which typically draws hundreds of visitors, plays a key role in fundraising for the farm’s ongoing community programmes.

"It’s heartbreaking to cancel the festival," Nicole added. "With further rain and high winds forecasted we cannot risk compromising the safety of our staff and visitors at such a large event. We will be refocusing resources and time on replanting the north beds to minimise the impact on our spring harvest and ensuring we can continue to provide for the community."

To prevent future flooding and ensure that our operations continue, we urgently need your support to clear gullies alongside the brook to increase our resilience to extreme weather events, purchase seeds and compost to rebuild our planting beds, and build back the loss of income that keeps our services running. If you are able to please donate to our crowdfunder.

Thank you so much for your support.