Government announces it is fast-tracking plans for new Lincolnshire reservoir near Sleaford

Yesterday (Wednesday) Environment Secretary Steve Reed confirmed that Anglian Water’s two proposed new reservoirs – one near Scredington in Lincolnshire and a second in the Cambridgeshire Fens – are projects for which development consent is required since they are considered to be ‘nationally significant’.

The government has described the move as a “significant intervention to speed up delivery of much-needed reservoirs”, the first major reservoirs to be built since the 1990s and part of a government commitment to fast-track the delivery of nine new reservoirs in order to ensure water supplies for 1.5 million new homes pledged to be constructed by the end of this parliament.

The direction confirms the projects’ planning route through development consent order process where, given their national significance, consent is granted by the relevant Secretary of State rather than planning permission from the local authority, potentially streamlining and accelerating the planning process,

However Anglian Water had previously indicated that the projects would need to be submitted for a Development Consent Order and now DEFRA has formalised this process.

Together the reservoirs will supply around 750,000 homes, with over 200million litres of drinking water a day. The company says they are critical to securing future water supply for customers in the East of England, deemed as the driest part of the UK, and one of the fastest growing. They will also support the government in delivering their nationally significant growth proposals for the Cambridge region.

Director of Strategic Asset Management, Sian Thomas from Anglian Water said: “Supporting economic growth sits at the core of Anglian Water’s mission and purpose to deliver a prosperous region and UK economy.

“Our vision for the reservoirs goes beyond simply creating a new public water supply. This is a significant investment in England’s water infrastructure and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver lasting benefits for people, place and the environment. Not only will the reservoirs be critical in keeping taps running, but they also mean more water can be left in some of the region’s most environmentally sensitive habitats, by reducing

the need for abstraction.

“This is a great first step in recognising the scale and importance of these major infrastructure builds but it will require even further innovation and change in regulation to deliver major infrastructure on the scale needed for the UK - for example, developing appropriate infrastructure financing, funding, and procurement models, further reviewing planning reform, and achieving greater regulatory alignment.

“We have shared these recommendations with Ofwat and welcome the focus of the Task Force for Water and the Cunliffe Commission’s review of the regulatory landscape to go further and faster to improve the nation’s water infrastructure.”

Anglian Water are aiming to have the Lincolnshire reservoir 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.

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

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, according to DEFRA.

To sustain water future water supplies, 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 national water resilience.

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.”

Hannah Thorogood, owner of The Inkpot permaculture farm near Scredington is one of 50 property owners who would be displaced by compulsory purchase under the plans, although she claims, according to a new survey commissioned, hundreds more homes in the surrounding villages are likely to be affected by the water table being raised by as much as a metre when the reservoir is filled.

She said: “We knew it was going to be decided by Development Consent Order from the Secretary of State. We always knew it would be a Nationally Significant project.

"We had a survey done and they said it would raise the local water table by a metre which would put most local villages under water.”

Leader of North Kesteven District Council, the local planning authority, Coun Richard Wright said: “The reservoir planned in North Kesteven has long been designated a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, which means the decision on whether it is approved or not will be made by the Secretary of State rather than any local determination through our planning functions. “That being said, we continue to follow the current statutory process that’s required in readiness for that determination by the Secretary of State to take place in the timescales set out. This includes responding as a key consultee and helping to ensure important issues are at the forefront of discussion including, for example, suitable shared community benefits for the places hosting nationally significant schemes such as this if approved.”