Portsmouth Water is carrying out work on and around the Havant Thicket Reservoir project site in March, April and May.
Image: Havant Thicket timeline
The work is in preparation for creating a new Northern Route to access the Havant Thicket Reservoir site. This route will be used by construction traffic during the main works and will minimise disruption for residents in Warren Park and Rowlands Castle.
From 20th April 2022, tree removal and ecological mitigation is taking place along the proposed Northern Access Route and on the new junction of the B2149 – a number of single lane closures will be put on place on the B2149 between 28th March to 6th May.
Environmental mitigation
As part of the Havant Thicket Reservoir project, Portsmouth Water has developed an extensive environmental mitigation and compensation package which includes creating and improving more than 200 hectares of woodland and wood pasture.
Large-scale habitat restoration will be undertaken within Havant Thicket woodland, Bell’s Copse and on Portsmouth Water owned land in Staunton Country Park. Portsmouth Water will also create 80 hectares of wood pasture on a local plot of land and is working with a local environmental group to relocate 80 trees from within The Avenue and replant these locally.
The company has already planted 6,000 new trees and are creating new wildlife corridors along the site boundaries.
Ruari Maybank, Project Director, Havant Thicket Reservoir, said:
“Havant Thicket Reservoir is an environmentally-led project and we are confident that it will have a lasting, positive impact on the environment in and around the site. We making every effort to protect wildlife and enhance local habitats while work is carried out. We have already installed around 300 new bat boxes in woodland adjacent to the reservoir site and ecologists will be present for the duration of the work to ensure bats, birds, dormice and other wildlife are carefully safeguarded throughout.”
Havant Thicket will be the first new reservoir to be built in the South East since the 1970s and is being developed in collaboration with Southern Water who are funding the project. The reservoir is due to be completed and operational by 2029.
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