Issued by: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

New reservoirs will supply three quarters of a million homes and unlock the building of tens of thousands more as part of the Plan for Change

In a significant intervention to speed up delivery of much-needed reservoirs, the Environment Secretary Steve Reed has seized control of the planning process to build two major reservoirs for the first time since the 1990s.

This immediate step delivers on this government’s commitment to fast-track the delivery of nine new reservoirs, supporting its plans to get Britain building and deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.

Without these projects, national water supplies will remain under threat and new homes simply cannot be built.

With the government taking decisive control, two new reservoir projects in East Anglia and Lincolnshire have been awarded status of ‘nationally significant’. This means the project is so crucial that the planning process is escalated from a local level to the Secretary of State.

This milestone will streamline and accelerate the planning process, to shore up water resources for over three quarters of a million homes in England’s most water-stressed areas.

Rapid population growth, crumbling infrastructure that has been left to decline, and a warming climate mean the UK could run out of clean drinking water by the middle of the next decade without a major infrastructure overhaul.

To sustain our water supply into the future, the government will also legislate to radically streamline the planning process – meaning the ‘nationally significant’ designation is automatic for projects like these which are fundamental to our national water resilience.

This comes as part of the Plan for Change, which will bring forward building 150 major infrastructure projects this Parliament, creating new jobs and driving economic growth.

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."

Meanwhile, the risk of drought this summer is increasing (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ea-steps-up-dry-weather-prep-after-driest-spring-start-since-1956), with the Environment Agency urging water companies to do more to safeguard water supplies after the driest start to spring in 69 years.

Reservoirs, which collect and store water, are essential to keep water supply reliable and consistent even during dry weather – but no new reservoirs have been delivered since 1992, over 30 years ago.

Thousands of much needed homes in Cambridge and North Sussex are currently being blocked due to concerns around water scarcity.

Anglian Water are proposing to build the Lincolnshire Reservoir to the south of Sleaford, aiming to be operational by 2040. 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.

The Lincolnshire Reservoir would provide up to 166 million litres of water per day for up to 500,000 homes – that is the equivalent of more than 664 million cups of tea day. The Fens would supply a much needed 87 million litres to 250,000 homes in the driest region of the UK.

Both projects will now progress to consultation phase, where developers gather views from communities and stakeholders.

Water companies have committed to bring 9 new reservoirs (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-review-of-englands-draft-regional-and-water-resources-management-plans/appendix-c-draft-water-resources-management-plans-supply-options) online by 2050, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex and the West Midlands. These reservoirs alone have the potential to provide 670 million litres of extra water per day.

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