Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6855 on Water Supply: East of England, what the planned timetable is for (a) approving and (b) constructing the proposed two new reservoirs in East Anglia.

The Secretary of State has allowed Anglian Water to finalise its Water Resources Management Plan, which includes proposals for two reservoirs, the Fens Reservoir and Lincolnshire Reservoir. Both meet the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project criteria and would need development consent, under the Planning Act 2008.

Anglian Water expects the Fens Reservoir to be in supply by 2036/37 and the Lincolnshire Reservoir to be in supply by 2039/40. Future consultations on the proposals are required before the applications for development consent are submitted. The applications are expected in 2026/27 for the Fens Reservoir, and in 2028/29 for the Lincolnshire Reservoir.