Government intervenes in £5bn reservoir build to fast-track delivery, new jobs and growth

Environment Secretary Steve Reed has seized control of proposed reservoirs, the Lincolnshire Reservoir, and the Fens Reservoir, designating the duo as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).

This means because of their size and importance to wider communities, the project’s planning process is raised from government at a local level to the Planning Inspectorate.

Proposed by Anglian Water, the Lincolnshire Reservoir, and Fens Reservoir, jointly planned with Cambridge Water, are together set to supply 253 million litres of water daily – enough for 750,000 homes.

The aim of the intervention is to speed up the planning process and delivery of vital reservoirs which provide drought resilience for homes in water-stressed areas – and marks the first intervention in UK reservoir construction since the 1990s.

Sian Thomas, director of strategic asset management at Anglian Water said it was a great first step in recognising the scale and importance of major infrastructure builds.

“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.”

Ofwat chief executive, David Black confirmed the regulator’s support of the measures, acknowledging £2 billion of development funding in its 2024 Price Review.

In its announcement, the government said that without these projects, national water supplies would be threatened while new homes, particularly in Cambridge and North Sussex, could not be built.

With no new reservoirs delivered since 1992, water minister, Emma Hardy said the government was backing builders not blockers.

“[We’re] 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.”

Once construction starts, the nearly £5 billion reservoirs – £2.6 billion 3.2km long Lincolnshire, to the south of Sleaford and the £2.2 billion 2.4km long Fens, located between the towns of Chatteris and March – are expected to be operational by 2040 and 2036, respectively.

Water companies have committed to bring nine new reservoirs, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex and the West Midlands, online by 2050. These reservoirs alone have the potential to provide 670 million litres of extra water per day.

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