Agenda item

Verbal update from James Palmer from Eastern Powerhouse

An update was given by James Palmer from Eastern Powerhouse on introducing investment into the Fens.

Members made comments, asked questions, and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Taylor stated he had been working on some figures concerning the reservoir due to be built in the area and for 100 farms to have a 20 acre reservoir it will give the same amount of water capacity as the Chatteris reservoir and he feels this project will be successful. James Palmer responded Anglian Water as well as Eastern Powerhouse are very keen to see the reservoir take place and feels it will be supported well with the new Government in place. He added that there is a meeting to be held between Anglian Water and senior civil servants to discuss the time scale of the Chatteris reservoir with the likelihood of the development happening before 2040.

·         Councillor Marks stated there has been conflicting information regarding the reservoir and concerns that the water source is not just for Cambridgeshire but going to go further into the home counties as part of their quantity of water. He questioned if the plans are going to change could this take up more land which will take more land away from food production, with there already being the add ons like the maze which is taking over a lot of the land and also the glass and solar farms. Councillor Marks expressed concern that soon there will not be a rural community because there will be no land to grow on because there will not be enough land left for food produce and all the land will be consumed for energy use. James Palmer responded that the rural community of the Fens has become an agricultural business over the last 40 years, this idea of a group of reservoirs across the Fens is not to replace the Fenland reservoir but to allow the area to be proactive in the current situation and to take away that timeline issue of protecting water. He stated that the mention of a maze and glass houses is happening because farmers cannot make money out of agricultural land, with farmers being businessmen and need to make money but what the Fens have above other agricultural sites is the network of drainage to allow the farmers to make the most out of the land that they have. Councillor Marks stated that many of the farmers in the local area who live next to a river bank have been told that they could not have an extraction licence because the Internal Drainage Board or Middle Level has led them to believe there is not enough water coming down the river, and now there is a suggestion that there is going to be 2,000 acres of water and farmers will be asking if they could not use it then, why now? He added that now the reservoir is going to be built why can it not be used on local land before it gets moved onto other home counties? Councillor Marks continued he does support the idea of smaller reservoirs, however, he can see that there is a conflict of interest and people’s livelihoods and properties are being put at risk. James Palmer responded that this is an ongoing project and the Government have asked Anglian Water experts whether there is the possibility of delivering a reservoir, the feasibility work is now being carried out, in the meeting he has attended with the Civil Service there does not seem to be an understanding of the timeline necessary to deliver a major reservoir in the Fens. He continued as a local authority there is not a lot that can be done when it comes to a National Infrastructure with local councils being subservient to larger authorities but in this case Fenland District Council are not subservient to larger authorities and if the Council want to pass a reservoir on a piece of land next to a drain that is a decision for the Planning Committee at Fenland District Council.

·         Councillor Taylor asked if a farmer has land that is set aside due to poor soil quality could this not be an ideal area for a reservoir?

·         Councillor Marks stated that Home Fen is one of the most fertile parts of this whole area, yet somebody has seen fit to flood it and put a few cows on it whereas that land was producing three crops every two years of good return, and, in his opinion, this land should be kept instead of putting reservoirs, glass farms, solar farms and more on it. He stated this is a rural committee and that is what he thought that the remit should be rather than trying to judge whether the Council should be putting in a huge water course, a lot of farmers over the years have wanted to irrigate and create reservoirs and have faced rejection from Middle Level as there has not been enough water supply and now it seems the rules have changed.

·         Councillor Count stated he agreed with the part of the presentation that mentioned that the East of England has been ignored for far too long and that is probably because there is not a substantial business voice that the Government is forced to listen to. He expressed the opinion, on the reservoir itself, he has read through the notes, and it sounds interesting, he does agree with Councillor Marks that there will be a reservoir built and the Council will not have much input but does feel farmers are struggling with lack of water and smaller reservoirs would solve this problem, but it needs to be sooner rather than later. Councillor Count continued that it would be beneficial for Fenland District Council to reunite with Eastern Powerhouse to give the Council a bigger voice. He asked, in the evidence that Eastern Powerhouse are putting forward and that the Government funding will come based on evidence, what are the big projects for East Anglia that have got the biggest BCRs? James Palmer responded the strongest BCRs and the most important projects in the entire region are, the Ely North junction as that affects people in Peterborough, Ipswich, Norwich, Cambridge and Fenland, the A47 which has been lobbied for years and needs to be a motorway, and the same case stands for the A12. He added that the other area is the rail network, there is a good network, but it is slow, and the existing infrastructure needs to be upgraded to give the rail service better access to all areas, but it comes down to whether Central Government want to put the funding into the East of England area. Councillor Count highlighted that the construction of the Cambridge South connection is going ahead and there is still no timetable as to what will be built, his understanding was that access will allow residents to travel from Whittlesey to March to Manea into Cambridge then onto Addenbrookes and he is hoping that when it is finished all trains will stop at all stations which is not happening at present. James Palmer responded those decisions are in the hands of Network Rail and he would like to work hand in hand with Fenland District Council again to try and lobby some of the subjects covered today around the reservoir and was happy to put a proposal document together to include Anglian Water.

·         Councillor Mrs Laws asked has there been a reason the Council has disconnected with Eastern Powerhouse? James Palmer expressed the view that it had just lapsed and that there was no other reason. Councillor Mrs Laws expressed the view that working with Eastern Powerhouse again would give the Council strength and a sense of teamwork and she would like to propose at this committee that it is brought forward to Cabinet. She agreed with the reservoirs but also would like to see Ely Junction completed as this would give Fenland the opportunity to open up economic growth, which is holding this area back at the moment.

·         Councillor Marks thanked James for his work as Mayor and working on the Manea Car Park and stated sadly the trains hardly stop and he felt sure if more trains stopped at Manea it would open up this rural area for travel and help surrounding villages like Welney, and it was refreshing to hear someone is fighting for the Fenland area as evidence shows businesses are moving out of the area through lack of infrastructure and things need to change to make Fenland an attractive place for businesses.

·         Councillor Laws stated she would like to propose that members bring this forward to Cabinet to explore rejoining Eastern Powerhouse for two reasons, which are to explore the reservoir issue which has been discussed and also the Ely Junction. Councillor Marks stated he would like to add to help economic growth with businesses and second the proposal. Anna Goodall confirmed she would write a report to present to the Cabinet members.

·         Councillor Clark asked if Anglian Water could be invited to the next meeting to get their feel for where the system fits in with the reservoir to be able to gain a better understanding of the plans before he could make an informed decision.

·         Councillor Taylor agreed it would be a good idea to invite Anglian Water to the meeting as there are too many conflicting stories around the completion date and the farming community are being told what they can and cannot do before any agreement has been made.

·         Councillor Marks agreed with Councillor Clark as it sounds like Anglian Water and Eastern Powerhouse are working in conjunction with each other. James Palmer stated he would like to reiterate that Eastern Powerhouse are working with the leaders of the two councils, and it is not proposing this is undertaken instead of the main reservoir, Eastern Powerhouses concern is that the reservoir is going to take time, at least until 2036 if not longer, and by getting involved the local councils can be proactive in the short term. He stated that smaller reservoirs would not bring the same solution as a single reservoir would offer but it would offer water security and the ability to grow the economy in the short term, Anglian Water are members of Eastern Powerhouse and if the offer of the two councils are to be taken up there would be a chance to work together with the Environment Agency to ensure the Fenland area has water security and there is a stronger input on how the reservoir will look.

·         Councillor Marks asked if the chair of Eastern Powerhouse and Anglian Water could be invited to the next meeting so as a committee, members could hear what both parties have to say.

·         Councillor Clark agreed with Councillor Marks and would like a better understanding of where the money is coming from to deliver this project as there is an understanding that Anglian Water will be adding a percentage to the water bills to pay for the reservoir. James Palmer added that he would like to put a document together that is well researched which could be presented to Government to make a difference to water scarcity in the UK within the lifespan of this Parliament, this will act as a bid to Government for funding as this is not something that the local councils will be funding.

·         Councillor Mrs Laws stated she was encouraged to hear how to lobby government and she felt the more team members are involved brings strength and the added gift of being in control of local planning.

·         Councillor Marks suggested it would be a good idea to include Middle Level in these discussions as Middle Level may still say no extraction of water even with smaller reservoirs being planned.

·         Councillor Mrs Laws made the point that there are plenty of local councillors that sit on the IDB and Subsidiary Boards to be able to ask these questions raised today and demand answers.

Members noted the information presented and agreed that a report be taken to Cabinet about rejoining Eastern Powerhouse and the James Palmer, Anglian Water and the Internal Drainage Boards be invited to a future meeting.