The 326-page report and recommendations made by the Inspector, Mrs Wendy Burden, to the Secretary of State for DEFRA,concluded that Thames Water’s 2009 draft Water Resources Plan did not meet the statutory requirements under the Water Industry Act, and that the measures Thames Water wished to adopt were not justified by the evidence. The outcome was a major setback for Thames Water’s long cherished ambition to build a huge reservoir across several thousand acres of productive farm land south west of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The inspector found Thames Water’s draft 2009 plan –
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Was not fit for pupose.
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Was not compliant with the regulators’ requirements.
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Had failed to investigate fully viable alternative water resources.
- Had failed to make certain essential environmental assessments.
The inspector ruled out Thames Water’s proposal to build a 100 million cubic meter Abingdon Reservoir.