PLANS to create a massive reservoir south of Abingdon have resurfaced after Thames Water confirmed it was eyeing up the site again.


The water company had a £1bn proposal for a 1,400-hectare reservoir between Abingdon, East Hanney and Steventon rejected in 2011 with residents assuming that meant the idea had been scrapped.


But yesterday Thames Water admitted it needed to solve a major “water stress” problem in the South East by 2025, and building a smaller reservoir on the site was still one of the options it was looking at.


The other two options were piping water into the Thames Valley from other parts of the country or re-using more waste water.

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The news has prompted warnings that people have been buying houses and land in villages like Steventon and East Hanney without realising the huge facility could be built on their doorstep.


Steventon Parish Council vice-chairman Robert Green said: “People moving into new houses in the village, you have to tell them there’s this huge reservoir being planned, and they could face years of hell when the construction work is going on.”


He said several councillors recently had to break the news to a developer that had just bought a plot of land near the village.


East Hanney Parish Council chairman Jim Triffitt said he had not even been aware the plans were still around after they had been thrown out in 2011.


He said: “It certainly is slightly worrying and people will be concerned about having to make decisions around it now.”


His main concerns about the proposal were the construction traffic, which could add to existing congestion on the A338 through the village, and the “destruction” of the village character.


Derek Stork is vice chairman of GARD (Group Against Reservoir Development), which has been campaigning against the plans since they were first proposed in 1990.


He said Thames Water could definitely do more to make people aware of the plans.


The Steventon resident said: “They don’t want to stoke up a fire. They see the way of doing this as engaging with groups who represent various interests, like us, and we keep various parish councils informed.”


Wantage MP  Ed Vaizey said building the reservoir should only be a “very last resort”. He said: “The reservoir would be very disruptive and a major infrastructure project set in a very rural area, so it needs to be justified.


“Thames Water needs to show that it is doing all it can to improve water efficiency before it proposes a reservoir.”


Spokesman Stuart White said the firm was running efficiency campaigns – fixing leaks, helping customers reduce water use and metering customers in London.

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Robert Green

But he said with population growth in the area (about 100,000 homes are due to be built in Oxfordshire alone by 2031), the water company could only manage demand until 2025, then something would have to be done.


He said: “No decisions have yet been made over a new reservoir, but we do continue to consider it as an option in the longer-term.”


The company is currently running consultations with customers and organisations including the Environment Agency, and will publish its “preferred” option in 2019.


Its original proposal for the reservoir  – which the company said was needed to meet predicted demand between 2010 and 2035 – was rejected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) following a public inquiry in 2010.


The land south of Abingdon has had a long history of development proposals.
As well as the reservoir plan, it was also earmarked for a new “Oxford Garden City”, and for two separate suggestions it could be used for an airport.