Overview

• Environment Secretary Steve Reed has escalated the Lincolnshire and Fens reservoirs from local planning to central government oversight under a fast-track designation
• The Lincolnshire scheme will supply 166 million litres daily to about 500,000 homes by 2040 and the Cambridgeshire Fens reservoir will deliver 87 million litres to 250,000 homes by 2036
• Water Minister Emma Hardy highlighted years of underinvestment combined with rapid population growth and climate change as reasons to speed up reservoir construction
• These two projects mark the first major UK reservoirs in over three decades and form part of a broader plan to bring nine new reservoirs online across England by 2050, adding 670 million litres of capacity per day
• Officials warn that removing local vetoes will unlock thousands of homes in water-stressed areas such as Cambridge, where developments have been stalled by supply constraints