Final Fenland reservoir plans due in 2027

The proposed reservoir would hold up to 50 billion litres of water

A formal application for a new reservoir in Fenland must be submitted by March 2027, according to regulators.

In a letter to Anglian Water and Cambridge Water, The Regulators' Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) insisted the deadline was necessary in order to "maintain momentum".

RAPID's decision comes after developers Anglian Water and Cambridge Water asked for more time to produce the proposals.

The utility firms previously said the reservoir would provide "reliable water supply for generations to come", reducing the demand placed on sensitive water sources like chalk streams.

The reservoir, just north of Chatteris in Cambridgeshire, would supply water for a quarter of a million homes.

It is one of nine new sites nationwide set to be built by 2050.

Earlier this year, ministers announced plans to "slash red tape to make the [reservoir's] planning process faster".

Emma Hardy, the water minister, told BBC News: "This is really important because if we don't build the reservoirs, we're going to be running out of the drinking water that we need by the mid-2030s."

The government said the project was nationally significant, meaning the environment secretary would make the final call on its development.

Before any decision can be made, however, developers have been asked to file for a Development Consent Order, explaining the reservoir plans in detail.

Fenland's new reservoir is due for completion in 2036 – and RAPID's letter to developers has been intended to keep the project on track.

Anglian Water and Cambridge Water had requested more time to develop preliminary plans from March 2025 to between August and October 2026.

However, RAPID rejected this request, instead setting a deadline of April 2026.

A final application is still due the following year.

In its letter, the regulator said it was "necessary to maintain momentum for the scheme and to stay on track for the Development Consent Order (DCO) application, which we do not want to see being delayed beyond March 2027."