Public drop-in at new Havant Thicket Reservoir site

The drop-in event, being held on Tuesday 8 October from 3pm to 5pm, will take place at the Havant Thicket Reservoir site. This will give members of the community the opportunity to visit the new offices, meet the team building the reservoir and enjoy views across site from the panoramic roof-top platform.

It will be the first in a series of public drop-in events that will involve and engage local people, enabling them to find out firsthand what’s happening on the site north of Havant.

Bob Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Portsmouth Water, said: “After nearly three years spent carefully preparing the site, I’m delighted to announce that work to create the first major UK reservoir in nearly 30 years – Havant Thicket Reservoir – has officially begun.

“To mark this occasion, we would like to invite members of the public to our offices and see the progress being made. As a community-orientated company, involving local people has been fundamental to the success of this project so far, and I’m pleased to confirm that this will be the first in a series of regular drop-in events about the new reservoir. We look forward to meeting as many of you as possible!”

Due to the size of the offices, capacity will be limited to thirty people. Future events will likely be able to accommodate larger groups, so anybody unable to attend this time will have the opportunity at a later date.

To book a place at the Tuesday 8 October event, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/public-drop-in-havant-thicket-reservoir-tickets-1029897289517?aff=oddtdtcreator

Please arrive anytime between 3pm and 5pm. Parking is available on site and the offices can also be reached on foot via a public bridleway.

Havant Thicket Reservoir is first and foremost an environmentally-led project, that will provide a sustainable source of water, meaning less needs to be taken from two precious chalk streams in Hampshire – the River Test and River Itchen.

Once complete, it will hold up to 8.7 billion litres of water, and (under current plans) supply 21 million litres per day in long periods of dry weather. This is in addition to being a new, green leisure hub for the area, with a visitor centre, wetland and network of footpaths, cycle routes and bridleways.

The reservoir itself is being constructed by Future Water MMJV Ltd – a joint venture between leading civil engineering contractors Mackley and Jones Bros, which have a combined total of over 150 years of experience in tackling complex and challenging civil engineering schemes.

For more information about the project, please visit: https://havant-thicket-reservoir.uk.engagementhq.com/