There’s a proposal to build a huge reservoir near Abingdon. It would cover farmland, roads and buildings between Drayton, Steventon, East Hanney and Marcham. The road from Steventon to East Hanney would be diverted and farmland and wildlife habitats lost.
This week, campaign groups (CPRE and Safer Waters) who tried to challenge the plan in court were unsuccessful. They are now hoping to take their case to the Court of Appeal.
The reservoir is being promoted as part of the solution to future water shortages. The reservoir would store enough water to supply 15 million people across the South East. But some local people and campaign groups are concerned it will damage wildlife, take away farmland, and change the local landscape and cause flooding.
Earlier this year, after years of local opposition to this and earlier proposals for a reservoir, the rules changed when Steve Reed, the UK’s Environment Secretary, approved the project and made it a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. That means local councils no longer have the final say. Instead, Thames Water can submit its plans to the Planning Inspectorate. After a public review, a government minister would then decide whether the project can go ahead.
The full planning application is likely to go to the Planning Inspectorate in 2026. If approved, construction could begin in 2029, and the reservoir could be ready from around 2040.
Appeals are useless as the government have already approved the plan. I still say that as the water is not for this area it is for London and the South East there are favourable sites nearer London where it could have been built.
I thought that the chief problem with the plans submitted was that this reservoir was to be built above ground, with massive walls around it. Apparently those in opposition say that the local material proposed for wall-building is not up to the job and that the frequent flooding of the area by Thames and Ock ( etc) would undermine these walls and cause collapse in affected places. The consequences of that are clear for local communities. I understand there has been a very small local trial of wall-building, the results of which don’t seem to have been published.
Seems to me the project is to be pushed through regardless, I wonder how much over budget this is going to end up.
I would happily bet that it won’t just go over budget, it’ll end up being the next HS2 debacle.
Well, not happily – cynically. Or more like realistically? There’s no way this build is going to proceed well.
Can anyone remind me what the benefits of the privatisation of public utilities were supposed to be? It certainly opened the way for asset stripping and the consequent under-funding that has resulted in leaking pipes and the polluted waterways and seas.
Should this project go ahead (it shouldn’t for reasons that don’t need repeating) Thames Water, or any other privatised entity, shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near it. For Thames Water this would supply a customer-financed enormous asset, which, if true-to-form, they could monetise on the financial markets to their own advantage. In addition, they haven’t been able to maintain their current assets (pipes, sewage stations, etc) and who would trust them with another project where due care is required?
If this is to be built and financed it should be by the Government with a large levy on Thames Water’s now inflated customent bills, which should ensure due diligence of how and where the money is spent, and it’s not frittered away on ‘trebles all round’. A large project like this should be a Public Asset.
A clean and reliable water service is SYSTEMIC to a successful Society and shouldn’t be used as a cash machine for private finance.
To be honest, it’s a shame it’s not being built further North East. South abingdon floods as it is – might as well just do the job properly and fortify the Embankment along Ock Street and Marcham road to the town hall being the northern embankment, and the a415 being the eastern embankment. Would certainly clear up a lot of the problems in the town with drunks and lowlifes that live in my new proposed area!
Might air be next to be privatised?
Mary – Quite possibly, not just ‘air’ but both inhalation and exhalation, as water is charged in a similar way.