Council urges rejection of reservoir plans

Thames Water said revised plans for the reservoir ensures "a sustainable water supply for the next 50 years and beyond"

A council has said it "maintains an objection" to a planned £1.2bn reservoir over concerns of its impact on the environment.

Thames Water wants to build a large reservoir on a 4.5 sq mile (7 sq km) site between East Hanney and Drayton, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

But Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) said it objects "given ambiguity on costs, environmental and human impacts".

Thames Water said the reservoir was needed "to deliver a secure and sustainable water supply for the next 50 years and beyond".

The council set out its concerns in a letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 25 July.

It said the reservoir, known as South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO), was now "even bigger than originally planned" and "unprecedented in scale".

'The need has not been established'

Bethia Thomas, VWHDC leader, said they would continue to represent residents and "urge" for the plans' rejection.

She said: "I hope to arrange a meeting to set out why we firmly believe the need for the reservoir has not been established and call for the whole process to be paused to give proper consideration to other options."

The council said any reservoir would come "at the expense of significant carbon emissions", which would "impact the district’s ability to become carbon neutral by 2045".

Andy Cooke, VWHDC's water champion, said Thames Water has "still failed to make a plausible case" for the reservoir.

He said councillors "remain vehemently opposed to this multibillion-pound white elephant".

'Safeguard water supply'

A Thames Water spokesperson said investing in a new reservoir "will safeguard the South East’s future water supply for around 15 million Thames Water, Southern Water and Affinity Water customers."

In a statement, it said the revised Water Resource Management Plan (rdWRMP) "sets out the actions and investment required to deliver a secure and sustainable water supply for the next 50 years and beyond".

It said it "follows extensive public consultation over the last two years".

The water firm said it was in regular talks with the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the plans' submission.

A public consultation is open until 28 August.