HC Deb 24 July 1984 vol 64 c629W
Mr. Denis Howell

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proposals there are to deal with potential drought situations in the south west, in view of the fact that the Roadford reservoir, planned for 1975, will not now be operational until 1990;

(2) what are the reasons for the delay from September 1978 to April 1982 in deciding to reopen the public inquiry into the size of the Roadford reservoir, and then, after a two-day inquiry solely concerned about the size of this reservoir, a further year to announce that he had approved a reservoir capable of holding 5,200 million gallons of water instead of the proposal of the South-West water authority for a reservoir of 8,120 million gallons.

Mr. Gow

I shall answer these questions shortly.