MPs demand meeting over 'spiralling' reservoir costs

A group of Liberal Democrat MPs have written to the government to request a meeting regarding the "spiralling costs" of a large reservoir project.

In a letter to the environment secretary, Layla Moran, Charlie Maynard and Olly Glover said they had "serious concerns" over the "suitability" of Thames Water's proposal for a new reservoir near Abingdon.

Under the firm's plans, its South East Strategic Reservoir Option would be roughly the same size as Gatwick Airport, supply 15 million people and cost up to £7.5bn.

But the trio of Oxfordshire-based MPs said the project's increasing cost "significantly undermines the business case and risks leaving bill payers liable".

In 2025, Thames Water more than tripled the potential cost of the scheme - which had initially been expected to be about £2.2bn.

"In light of the spiralling costs, we are increasingly concerned that a number of questions around the suitability of this proposal have not been sufficiently assessed," the MPs wrote in their letter to Emma Reynolds.

"We ask that the government pauses to review the options for securing water supply... given the tripling of estimated costs even at this relatively early stage of the development of the proposal."

The proposals would see the 150 billion litre (150 Mm3) reservoir cover 7 sq km (2.7 sq miles) of Oxfordshire countryside.

Thames Water previously insisted the project was a "vital piece of national water infrastructure" and would play a critical role in tackling expected water shortages.

The water company said it would "unlock economic growth, support new housing and infrastructure development, and create around 1,000 jobs during its construction".

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said: "We face growing pressures on our water resources, and with a changing climate, those pressures will only increase."

The spokesperson added that the government was "driving long-term change in the industry" and that Thames Water's plans were "progressing through the required planning stages".

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