South Staffs Water has met with local residents from the Shobnall area and representatives of the Shobnall Traffic Action Group this week to talk about plans to replace a reservoir in the town.

The Outwoods Number One reservoir - a covered reservoir for storing drinking water - in Reservoir Road, was built in 1881 to serve the town and surrounding area. Although it has been regularly maintained and monitored since then, it has now reached the point where increasing maintenance costs mean it is necessary to replace it with a completely new facility to serve the community for the next 100 years.

The company has two options which it is considering at the Reservoir Road site. The first is to demolish the existing reservoir and build a new one in the same spot, or secondly to build a new reservoir of the same size next to the existing one. The work will take place between 2015 and 2017. Site surveys and studies are currently being carried out to determine the best option. Outwoods Number Two reservoir, also in Reservoir Road, will not be affected by the work.

Paul Martin, Head of Production at SSW said the meetings were the start of a process to listen, enter into dialogue and communicate with local residents concerning the proposed site works.

Further consultation meetings will be held over the coming year at key milestones for the proposed works.