Vote against planned Abingdon reservoir as big as Gatwick

The proposed artificial lake known as the South East Strategic Reservoir (SESRO) came under fire at a full county council meeting yesterday (September 9) in the form of an 'urgent motion'.

This was in response to a decision by secretary of state Steve Reed on September 4 to approve the Thames Water Resources Management Plan which includes the controversial reservoir south west of Abingdon.

Steve Reed.

READ MORE: Plan approved for Oxfordshire village after speeding issues

The motion, calling on the leader to "request an urgent audience with the secretary of state" in light of the council's "objection" to the proposal, passed with 37 in favour - though it had 14 abstentions from the Labour group.

SESRO is set to nearly be as big as Gatwick Airport, holding 150 billion litres of water.

It would span 6.7 square kilometres and provide water to customers in London and the Thames Valley region.

Speaking out at the meeting, motion proposer and Independent councillor Sally Povolotsky said: "The plan isn't changing and nothing is addressing the issues."

Sally Povolotsky (L). (Image: OCC.)

Council leader Liz Leffman referred to the "unprecedented" nature of the reservoir for the county.

She referenced the "disruption this could cause to residents and disruption to nature in this area".

Ms Leffman added: "I recognise the shortage of water but there are other means to address that which Thames Water has completely ignored."

This comes as Thames Water has justified the reservoir proposal, saying if it does nothing, "we could face a shortfall of over one billion litres of water per day by 2050".

Liz Leffman. (Image: Oxfordshire County Council.)

A spokesman suggested there had been due consultation and added: "A new larger reservoir in Oxfordshire would not only help secure water supplies for future generations but provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in new infrastructure and provide many social, economic and environmental benefits, including a place where people can enjoy recreational activities.

“Across the south east we looked at more than 2,000 options and new reservoirs came out among the best of them based on cost, value for money and security of supply."

Labour county councillor Michael O'Connor admitted Thames' Water behaviour generally had been "frankly disgusting" and "it's safe to say water is fairly important" before the Labour group abstained from the motion.

Artist's impression of SESRO. (Image: Thames Water)

Liberal Democrat county councillor Jane Hanna (OBE) said: "This is going to decimate our community and for what?"

This comes as councillor Bethia Thomas also pointed out the water "isn't for us" as it would be serving London.

Both Liberal Democrat councillors Jane Hanna and John Howson pointed out they had been involved in the issue since 2006 and 2001 respectively - to which councillor Bob Johnston jokingly said "latecomers" as he had been involved for nearly all of his 42-year-long political life.

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe/

As a digital subscriber you will get:      

• Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website   
• Advert-light access       
• Reader rewards       
• Full access to our app

About the author

Noor is the Local Democracy Reporter for Oxfordshire who covers political stories from across the county. 

She began working as a journalist in Oxford in September 2023 having graduated from the University of Oxford.

Noor was trained at the News Associates journalism school and can be found on X through the handle @NoorJQurashi