Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the applications for (a) Fens Reservoir and (b) Lincolnshire Reservoir; when she expects Development Consent Order applications for each to be submitted; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of designation as nationally significant infrastructure projects on the speed of the delivery process.

Fens and Lincolnshire reservoirs could collectively provide around 570 million litres of water per day, improving water resilience across eastern England. Fens is progressing towards RAPID Gate 3, with a DCO submission target of 2028. Lincolnshire remains in pre-application. Section 35 designation supports streamlined delivery through the DCO regime.