View of their proposed multipurpose reservoir – the first in a generation – at the intersection of the River Cam and the Ouse
North of Cambridge, the landscape gives way to the Fens – largely at or below sea level – and some of the most productive arable land in the UK. Intensive agriculture, energy generation and nature conservation vie for space. Here, the park amplifies ongoing work to restore the area’s wetlands and rediscover the rich pre-enclosure landscapes.
Wicken Fen is 125 years old and one of the most species-rich places in the country. The National Trust has long-term plans to extend the fen into Cambridge, open up walking and cycling routes and convert monocultural farmland into wild countryside.
This vast area plays a pivotal role in flood storage and water management. Anglian Water plans a new reservoir, the first in a generation, in a remote Fenland location fed by the Ouse system. We suggest a better location, where it can be truly multifunctional, at the confluence of the Rivers Cam and Ouse. Here it can be linked to a northern [sic southern as the land is higher to the north] extension of the Wicken project and accessed and enjoyed for leisure by the railway and existing cycle links to Cambridge and Ely. This is in the true spirit of Grafham Water – the last reservoir to be constructed in the UK and the first to be explicitly planned to play multiple roles beyond water storage.
IIts a bold idea but I dont think it would fully replace the Anglian Water proposal as the area in question, Adventurers Fen, has a limited volume close to sea level below the levels of the adjoining villages
Though you could see a smaller multifunctional reservoir here as part of a wider (regional not national park). Plans around Cambridge need a regional multifunctional landscape vision – it cant all be about housing.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions 