§ Mr. Denis Howellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the reasons for the delay from September 1978 to April 1982 in deciding to reopen the 731W 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[pursuant to his reply, 24 July 1984]: All major planning proposals raise complicated issues. It takes time to consider those issues and for all parties to have the opportunity to make their views known.
In this case of Roadford, after a thorough examination of the original proposal and the large number of alternative sites suggested, the Secretary of State asked the South West water authority to reconsider its demand forecasts. Its revised figures were the subject of the inquiry reopened in 1982. Because the inspector's subsequent recommendation was substantially different from the original proposal, this and a possible alternative site at Higher Horslett had to be considered by all parties and this was done by written representations.
Outline planning permission for the Roadford reservoir was granted in March 1983, in order to provide a reliable yield of up to 87.3 megalitres of water a day.
§ Mr. Denis Howellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment 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 be operational until 1990.
§ Mr. Gow[pursuant to his reply, 24 July 1984]; The South West water authority has appealed for water economy and forbidden the household use of hosepipes. As at 23 July it had obtained nine orders under section 1 of the Drought Act 1976, authorising the reduction of residual river flows, or of compensation water flows from reservoirs, together with associated changes in abstractions.
It has applied for an additional 22 orders under sections 1 and 2 of the 1976 Act in order to conserve and augment its resources, to prohibit the inessential use of water and to ration the supply of water in some areas by means of rota cuts and standpipes. The authority is to meet on 25 July to consider what further increases are needed.
The Roadford reservoir was not planned for 1975; it was not until 1976 that the South West water authority applied for planning permission for it.