Ofwat has launched a consultation seeking views on its proposed decision to specify the White Horse Reservoir as a Specified Infrastructure Project and on its proposal to issue a Preparatory Works Notice to Thames Water in respect of the reservoir.

Ahead of land, consent or even capital, it is the supply and treatment of water that is impacting the growth of housing, renewables and digital infrastructure in many areas. In an Expert Focus article for WaterBriefing, James Cattermole, ​​​​Partner - Infrastructures at Carter Jonas takes a look at water as a limiting factor on economic growth.

The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) has confirmed that the Grand Union Canal Transfer and Minworth Water Recycling schemes have passed their RAPID gate three conditional review, and will now progress to RAPID gate four.

Ofwat has announced the launch of a combined gated process to oversee, support and assess the delivery of large-scale water infrastructure projects for the Major Water Infrastructure Programme.

Southern Water has opened the market engagement process for the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project. The utility is seeking feedback in particular from investors, construction and operating and maintenance contractors and/or potential consortia (which may involve their wider supply chain) that may be interested in the project.

The Grand Union Canal Transfer (GUCT) is launching its Phase Two Public Consultation – the second phase will run from Wednesday 11th February to Thursday 2nd April, with communities along the scheme’s proposed route able to contribute their thoughts and opinions on how the scheme is progressing.

Global engineering and built environment consultancy Arup, together with whole-lifecycle engineering services provider Binnies, has been appointed by Southern Water to help deliver the planning phase of the Thames to Southern Transfer project (T2ST).

The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) has published its draft decision proposing that the South East Strategic Reservoir Option (SESRO) solution should pass RAPID gate three, a significant milestone of the RAPID gated process indicating the project has reached an advanced level of maturity.

The Environment Agency (EA) has launched a new consultation on its proposed approach to reserving water abstraction rights and its proposed decision-making framework.

Severn Trent is inviting interested suppliers to register for Deep Dive sessions for its proposed £200 million SRO Minworth (Northern Section) procurement.