Council submits response to Thames Water reservoir consultation

Published 13 January 2026

Vale of White Horse District Council has today (13 January 2026) submitted its consultation response on Thames Water’s proposed reservoir for the district.

Thames Water launched a public consultation in October 2025 on the proposed South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO), which it ran until 13 January 2026.

The feedback Thames Water gather will inform their Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the government, which they expect to submit in autumn 2026.

Plans for the controversial reservoir near Abingdon have been criticised by local communities, with Vale of White Horse District Council urging water providers to consider alternative solutions more seriously. The reservoir is now even bigger than originally planned – at around 6.7 km2 – almost as big as Gatwick Airport and unprecedented in scale.

View the council’s consultation response:

Cllr Bethia Thomas, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We’ve provided our feedback on Thames Water’s statutory public consultation, and we will continue to represent our residents and urge water providers, regulators and government to listen to local voices.”

The council has argued the plans fail to fully consider the long-term impacts to the local community and the environment, both during a decade of construction and the irreparable damage to the countryside.

Any reservoir would also come at the expense of significant carbon emissions which the council argues would impact the district’s ability to become carbon neutral by 2045.

The council also reaffirmed its objections to the reservoir in a formal letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17 November 2025. The letter called for urgent action on the controversial plans and in particular concerns about spiralling costs, flawed assumptions, and the failure to properly consider alternative solutions.

Cllr Thomas added: “Many questions remain around the size of the proposed scheme, its environmental impact and significant (growing) financial and carbon costs, as well as the potential for increased flood risk in local watercourses.

“We remain opposed to this proposal, and we will continue to urge water providers, regulators and government to listen to local voices and reject these plans. We will continue to do everything we can within our power to ensure that the voice of our community is listened to.”

Cllr Andy Cooke, Vale of White Horse District Council’s Water Champion, said: “I’m glad to see our feedback submitted this week and I hope Thames Water will listen to what we are saying ahead of the next stage of the application to the government in the autumn.

“Thames Water have still failed to make a plausible case for the damaging, disruptive and pointless giant mega-reservoir. We remain opposed to the current proposal, with all of the issues that are inextricably linked to its world-beating size as a fully-bunded reservoir – issues that remain unaddressed even at this supposedly late stage of design.”

All the details on the council’s response and correspondence relating to SESRO is available on the council’s dedicated SESRO webpage.