The Government has taken control of the planning process for the construction of two new reservoirs in Lincolnshire and East Anglia.
The reservoir projects have been awarded the status “nationally significant”, meaning the planning process is escalated from a local level to the Secretary of State for Environment Food, and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed.
The last reservoir to be built was in 1992. Water companies have previously committed to bring nine new reservoirs online by 2050, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex, West Midlands and Somerset.
The Government will also legislate to streamline the planning process – meaning the “nationally significant” designation is automatic for projects like this which are “fundamental to our national water resilience”.
Anglian Water has proposed the Lincolnshire Reservoir, which is to the south of Sleaford, with the aim of becoming operational by 2040. They say it will provide up to 166 million litres of water daily for up to 500,000 homes. They have also partnered with Cambridge Water to propose the Fens Reservoir, located between the towns of Chatteris and March. Set to be completed in 2036, it will supply 87 million litres to 250,000 homes in the driest region of the UK.
Both projects will now progress to the consultation phase.
Water Minister Emma Hardy said: “Today we are backing the builders not the blockers, intervening in the national interest and slashing red tape to make the planning process faster to unblock nine new reservoirs.
“This Government will secure our water supply for future generations and unlock the building of thousands of homes as part of the Plan for Change.”
David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat said “We welcome the clear focus the Government is placing upon accelerating the delivery of supply and resilience schemes that will meet our future water needs and support economic growth. Alongside the £2 billion of development funding announced at our 2024 Price Review, this will help us to deliver the largest programme of major water infrastructure projects – including nine new reservoirs – seen in decades.”
Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “Faced with the consequences of their own reckless farming policy and inability to manage immigration, it’s no surprise that Labour has resorted to a hastily timed announcement during recess on water supplies running low.
“The last Conservative government left behind a robust, coherent plan to safeguard food security and reduce net migration by more than half. Labour has chosen to abandon those plans and in doing so, it has surrendered control over both our rural community and our borders.
“Labour’s admission of failure on immigration will have serious repercussions for our rural communities. They are now using population pressures as a pretext to concrete over the green belt and hand sweeping powers to quangos.”
