Campaigners celebrate Severn Trent Water statement on plans for huge Peak District reservoir

Seven Trent said in response to consultation feedback ‘we have removed the Upper Derwent Valley Reservoir Expansion scheme from our preferred plan’. It added: ‘The scheme is replaced by a combination of leakage, customer demand management and accelerated supply options’.

It also hinted it could end a ‘bulk transfer’ agreement with Yorkshire Water - leaving the firm potentially short. Severn Trent also left the door open to a return to the scheme, stating it would continue to ‘explore the potential costs, benefits and timing of the potential Derwent Valley Reservoirs’. But for now, people are celebrating.

Peak Park, environment, parish council and outdoor groups opposed the scheme and were about to launch a huge campaign over loss of treasured countryside and years of disruption. Andrew McCloy, chair of the Peak District National Park Authority, tweeted: ‘Good news indeed, but how a scheme so obviously damaging to a national park ever got to this stage begs serious questions of judgement of Severn Trent, the Environment Agency and Ofwat. The Campaign for National Parks tweeted: ‘Fantastic news. A big win for the Peak District and for nature in the park!”

Tomo Thompson, chief executive of CPRE Peak District and South Yorkshire said: “We’re very relieved that Severn Trent has finally realised how unacceptable their plans were to landscape, biodiversity, amenity and recreation. But we’re still worried that their plans aren’t fully off the table, so we’ll be pressing the water companies hard to ensure the most sustainable long-term solutions are now looked at.

“We will continue to voice our concerns in the hope that they will clearly rule out any future revival of these damaging ideas. We accept that the country needs resilient water supplies, but desecrating the heart of a national park is not an acceptable solution.”

Severn Trent has indicated that from 2035 they will end their contract with Yorkshire Water, who currently get some of their supplies from Derwent Reservoir, he added. But it will also continue to look at other reservoir options that don’t have such damaging impacts.