Village lets canal project rejection sink in

11 September 2025

Martin HeathBBC Political Reporter, Buckinghamshire, Little Chalfont

News image — The water treatment plant and storage facility would have dominated the view out of Kristina Hedley's window

Martin Heath/BBC Kristina Hedley with long brown hair wearing a black T-shirt with green and blue graphics on the front. She is looking through a window made up of several square planes at a canal, with a grass and cereal field with a hedge behind. — The water treatment plant and storage facility would have dominated the view out of Kristina Hedley's window

A village is celebrating news that a water treatment plant and storage facility will not be built nearby.

Slapton, in Buckinghamshire, was chosen as one of the preferred sites for the plant, which would have been part of a project to transfer canal water to the south east.

Villagers say the scheme would have ruined the scenery and affected house values.

A site near Great Brickhill has been chosen instead.

The Grand Union Water Transport Scheme aims to solve a shortage of water in the South East of England by pumping it from the Midlands.

The project is being run by two water companies and the Canal and River Trust.

The village of Slapton was selected as one of two possible sites for a water treatment plant and storage area.

Plans showed the development would be larger than the village.

Martin Heath/BBC Kristina Hedley with long brown hair wearing a black T-shirt standing on the towpath beside a canal, on which a red canoe is being paddled. A two storey which house is visible on the other side of the canal with two chimneys. There is a hedge in front of the house and several clouds are visible in the sky. — Kristina Hedley's house would be separated from the water treatment plant by the canal

Only the Grand Union canal itself would have separated Kristina Hedley's cottage from the water transfer plant.

She described finding out about the scheme as "very traumatic".

At first, the impact on house prices was a major concern, but the arrival of a baby daughter three months ago left Ms Hedley dreading the prospect of "having all that construction happening for the first years of her life".

She was also concerned about vibration, noise and dust from the building work and the effect on otters, birds and other wildlife.

Martin Heath/BBC Stephen Golder with short dark hair looking at the camera and wearing a dark-coloured T-shirt. He is standing on a towpath with a canal and a lock behind him. There are trees and hedges in the background. — Stephen Golder described the plan as a "slap in the face for Slapton"

Stephen Golder also lives in the village and describes the project as a "slap in the face for Slapton".

He was one of the locals who set up an action group to fight the plan: "Why would you put a water treatment plant right slap bang up against a tiny village?

"One side of it actually goes up against our recreation ground where our children play, the other side is a beautiful canal."

Martin Heath/BBC A brown sign in the foreground with GALLEY LANE in white letters is in the grass verge alongside a country road lined by hedges. — The site that has been chosen is in a rural area some distance from the village of Great Brickhill

It looks as though the residents of Slapton can now breathe a sigh of relief as the project team has told the BBC that a site near Great Brickhill has been chosen as the preferred location for the water treatment plant.

The team said: "We have looked carefully at the feedback we received about these routes and sites.

"We're in the process of arranging updates with landowners, local authorities and parish councils in the areas directly affected."

The Parish Council in Great Brickhill said no "real objections" had been raised so far by villagers there, possibly because the site would be some distance from the village.

Ms Hedley said she was "flabbergasted" by the update, but "they've put us through a year's worth of stress, update, tears and sleepless nights."

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