Future Cities Forum to discuss water reserves and energy infrastructure at its Cambridge forum in September

Image: courtesy LDA Design

Future Cities Forum will be discussing concerns around the supply of water and power to the region at its 'Global Tech Cities' discussion event at the Cambridge Science Park this September.

Last September at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and also in February this year, LDA Design who have been working on two new reservoirs to supply the east of England, gave us their thoughts.

Charles Crawford Director at LDA Design commented:

'Looking at the Fens reservoir, and picking up what Alister Kratt from LDA Design has said at the Future Cities Forum Cambridge event last September, I want to stress the importance of the place-based approach. The project will deliver wider benefits than that of the pure infrastructure. The great scale of the project is difficult to grasp. The reservoir will have an area of five square kilometres, supplying 87 million litres of water everyday which is enough for 250,000 homes.

'The Fens reservoir is a 50/50 partnership between Cambridge Water, serving the city of Cambridge and Anglian Water serving a wide region from the Humber to the Thames. The supply objectives are supporting human needs and also the development aspirations in the region, while taking pressure off the chalk aquifers which have been running dry. There is also a need to deal with climate change, by making the region more water efficient and resilient. The Fens project will come on stream in 2036 - it is the biggest earth moving project we have had in the UK, and that element will take five years.'

The Government has recently given the two proposed new reservoirs, masterplanned by LDA Design and Fereday Pollard for Anglian Water and Cambridge Water, ‘nationally significant’ status.

This means decisions on their future will fall to the Secretary of State and a government committed to fast tracking in total nine new reservoirs in support of greater climate resilience, better water management and good growth.

LDA Design says:

'The Lincolnshire and East Anglian reservoirs will help to secure water supply and reduce the amount of water taken from environmentally sensitive rivers and underground aquifers.

'LDA Design and Fereday Pollard are currently further developing the masterplans for both schemes responding to initial public and stakeholder feedback and pointed to the next rounds of engagement.

'The reservoirs will each hold around 55 million cubic metres of water and combined will meet the annual water needs of more than 750,000 homes in a water-stressed part of the UK. Both projects are also placemaking challenges. The aim is that they respond well to their settings, maximising the benefits they can deliver for local communities and for nature.

Commenting on the recent announcement, LDA Design director and project lead, Simon Railton, said: “This clarification from the Government is useful, signposting a commitment to progressing two vital infrastructure projects. As well as securing water supplies, we want these reservoirs to improve opportunities and quality of life in the area and support the environment.”

'The Fens reservoir is set within a distinctive landscape near the market towns of Chatteris and March. Early design thinking drew on ammonite fossils discovered during excavation work, and the plans feature sculpted embankments and new landforms from reused excavated soil. There is potential for new pedestrian, cycling and horse-riding paths, plus visitor facilities.

'The second reservoir is located south east of Sleaford on the edge of the Fens. The proposed design is naturalistic, blending in with shallow ridges in the landscape and marking the transition between the limestone uplands to the west and the flat fenlands to the east. It is hoped this will be a rich and immersive environment with wetlands and new habitats and space for water-based recreation.'