The government has intervened in the planning of two major reservoir projects in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, amid growing concerns over the UK's water supply.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has designated these projects as "nationally significant," thereby transferring authority from local planning to central government.
This decision seeks to expedite the construction of these reservoirs, the first in over three decades, to enhance water resources for more than 750,000 homes in England's water-stressed regions and facilitate new housing developments.
The government plans to legislate that major reservoirs will automatically be designated as "nationally significant" to streamline their construction and secure future water supplies.
Officials caution that without new reservoirs, population growth, aging infrastructure, and climate change could cause drinking water demand to exceed supply by the mid-2030s. Water supply shortages are also impeding the construction of thousands of homes in areas like Cambridge.
The two reservoirs which have been designated as nationally significant are being proposed by Anglian Water, which wants to build the Lincolnshire reservoir south of Sleaford and is partnering with Cambridge Water for the Fens Reservoir between Chatteris and March in Cambridgeshire.
Under the plans, the Lincolnshire reservoir, which would provide up to 166 million litres a day for up to 500,000 homes, would be completed by 2040 and the Fens Reservoir, supplying 87 million litres a day to 250,000 homes in the driest region of the UK, would be completed by 2036.
Both projects will now progress to the consultation phase, gathering views from communities and stakeholders, the Government said.
Water companies across England have committed to bringing nine new reservoirs online by 2050, in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex and the West Midlands and Somerset, with the potential to supply 670 million litres of extra water per day.
Water Minister Emma Hardy said the Government was “intervening in the national interest and slashing red tape to make the planning process faster to unblock nine new reservoirs”.
She said it would secure water supply for future generations and unlock the building of thousands of homes.
