ITEM CA8 CABINET – 20 FEBRUARY 2007 UPPER THAMES MAJOR RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (STEVENTON RESERVOIR) Report by Head of Sustainable Development Introduction 1. Thames Water Utilities Ltd has commenced Stage 2 of its public consultation exercise on their proposal for a large reservoir in Oxfordshire. The reservoir forms part of a package of proposed measures to guarantee the supply water for London, Swindon and Oxfordshire to beyond 2030. The reservoir is considered by Thames Water as an important element of the company’s Water Resources Plan which is regularly updated in consultation with the Office Of Water Services (OFWAT) and the Environment Agency. 2. The first stage of consultation was launched in September 2006. It set out Thames Water’s view of how much more water would be needed to meet future demand in Swindon, Oxfordshire and London, and outlined a package of proposals, including demand management, water efficiency and leakage reductions to meet this. The principal measure promoted within this package was the reservoir at Steventon. 3. The Cabinet considered a report on the stage 1 consultation at its meeting on 17 October 2006. The final response was determined by the Council at its meeting on 7 November 2006. A copy of the letter sent by the Leader of the Council to Thames Water following this meeting is attached at Annex 1 (download as .doc file). 4. Thames Water states that it is taking the responses it had received to Stage 1 of the consultation into account in developing the proposal for a reservoir and will be reporting back on the specific issues raised by the County in the next few weeks. Following this, it has said that it will produce a composite response to all the comments received from stakeholders in March or April. In the meantime, officers are continuing to work closely with Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils and the Environment Agency to ensure that all aspects of the ‘needs case’ are appropriately covered. Stage 2 Consultation 5. The Stage 2 consultation runs from 6 January to 3 March. It deals with more detailed issues related to a potential reservoir, specifically: · How Thames Water has considered public views given so far; · How the proposed reservoir would work; · How local people can influence the design proposals, including recreational facilities and nature conservation schemes; · The likely timescale for construction; and · What the reservoir might look like. 6. Associated elements of the reservoir proposal are also being dealt with at this stage including the tunnel required to abstract from and discharge water into the Thames and the emergency drawdown channel that also links the reservoir to the Thames. 7. The purpose of the Stage 2 consultation is to provide details of the proposed reservoir and enable the local community and other stakeholders to identify issues and influence the proposals for conservation, landscape, buildings and the provision of recreational facilities. Thames Water’s public exhibition is being displayed at Abingdon, Steventon, East Hanney, Drayton, Marcham and Wantage during the consultation period. Annex 2 (download as .doc file) illustrates an indicative site layout and artists’ impression of the completed reservoir. Comments 8. Thames Water are progressing with Stage 2 while many of the issues and questions that were raised during Stage 1 remain unanswered. Officers will continue to pursue answers to these points. However, for Thames Water to proceed to invite responses to a consultation on detailed design issues seems premature, considering fundamental questions remain about the basic need for the reservoir. 9. Nonetheless, the County Council will be considering the impact of the proposal on the county including the transport network, ecology, public rights of way and archaeology. 10. At present, some critical questions remain unanswered with respect to Stage 2 of the consultation. For example, it is unclear as to the likely after-use of the reservoir, e.g. the degree of recreational activity that is anticipated on-site. Thames Water has presented a range of possible options, from very light uses (walking and fishing) to more intense (sailing, education centre and heritage, archaeological and equestrian centres). The type and scale of such uses are likely have very different impacts. On transport, for example, the County Council is likely to wish to ensure that Thames Water fully mitigates the impact of the development on the local network, in a way that complements the requirements of the wider area. Both the Highways Agency and council officers have asked Thames Water for details of their transport modelling work for different levels of activity. 11. As stated at stage 1, all stakeholders should have sufficient time to carry out full and thorough assessments of Thames Water’s analysis of the need to meet the increase in demand and the options to meet this demand. The County Council encourages Thames Water to make its assumptions and modelling approaches available to all relevant stakeholders as well as results to ensure that stakeholders have the information that they need to provide an independent and robust assessment. 12. If there is proven demand for more water and a reservoir is the appropriate solution, then the County Council may have a view on the merits of alternative supply options and sites, depending on the size of resource needed. It appears that some 70% of the water held within the reservoir is for London, with the remaining 30% for Oxfordshire and Swindon. This reinforces the importance of looking at water resources at a regional level, and in particular of looking at the proposals of the different water companies in total. Next steps 13. The anticipated timescale for the reservoir project is as follows; Stage 1 Needs and Alternatives Autumn 2006 Stage 3 Environmental Impact Assessment Mid 2007 - Mid 2008 and Consents Submission Stage 4 Decision Process 2008 - 2009 Stage 5 Implementation 2011 - 2019 Financial and Staff Implications 14. The work on the reservoir is currently being covered mainly by existing staff resources. Consultants from Oxford Brookes University have been engaged to provide advice on some technical aspects. The cost of this can be met from existing budgets. RECOMMENDATION 15. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to: (a) advise Thames Water that: (1) it considers that it is premature for the company to be consulting on stage 2 while fundamental questions about the need for the reservoir remain; (2) it therefore reserves its position in relation to the questions raised at stage 2; (3) nonetheless the views expressed in paragraphs 7 to 11 of the report represent its provisional response to stage 2; and, (b) ask officers to continue to work with the Environment Agency, the Vale of White Horse District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, in pursuing outstanding questions with Thames Water. CHRIS COUSINS Background papers:Consultation material (available in Members’ Resource Centre) Contact Officer: February 2007
|
|