Iconic London Bus by StockCakeTall as six double-deckers [stacked]
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Iconic London Bus by StockCake Tall as six double-deckers [stacked] |
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Click for a summary. Backwards to remove it. [Unexpectedly, the consultation period has been extended until Friday 23 January. Looks like your response will need to be by email to sesro@ipsos.com. Other ways of responding appear to have been closed off. They would have had to admit to their error and fix the web form. IPSOS had placed a hidden character limit on box entries in the online form, thus restricting feedback.]
There's been much in the national media about the water sector in England: not least about pollution and inadequate governance. But I've seen little detailed or constructive criticism of SESRO. All too often, local media undermine criticism by stating unequivocally that we need more water. And the national media seem more or less silent on SESRO. Why is this? SESRO is Thames Water's plan to build a gigantic reservoir on flat land near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. South East Strategic Reservoir Option is a nonsense name to help push the scheme through. Yes, the scheme seeks to be Strategic. But Government now sees the 150 Gl reservoir near Abingdon as essential not optional. Surely only backwards folk would oppose it: Only fools and 'ORSES? Embanked all the way round, the reservoir will be monumental in scale. It has no natural catchment: just the lake area of 6.7 sq km and its immediate surround. It may be the largest reservoir in Europe entirely reliant on pumped refill. It will certainly be the second largest reservoir by volume of any kind in the UK. Its capacity will be 75% of that of Kielder Water. What do you think? Have you decided that Government and big business will force the scheme through regardless? Yes, that does look to be the case. But you're going to have to explain to your descendants why you sat on your hands and did nothing. You'll tell them that you didn't realise how bad a scheme it was. To preserve that lie, you'd better not read on. Bolstered by financial entities keen to keep Thames Water afloat, the scheme is being waved ahead by Government. A new name: Abi-ResLet's give it a slicker name to prove that there is new thought. Abi-Res is set to be a ruinously bad scheme: not just environmentally for southern Oxfordshire but financially for Thames Water and their bill-payers. We can live without many things but not without water. It is unforgiveable to lie about water. Abi-Res is full of deceit. Please explore the nine webpages keyed by D E C E I T F U L. The blue buttons in the column to the left will help you. Don't delay. The Statutory Consultation closes on 13 January 2026.How did we get here?Abi-Res is set to be a financial and environmental disaster. The budget tripled last year and will doubtless triple again (to £20bn) before it provides any new water resource. There is so much wrong with the scheme that I can only conclude that hydrological common sense has evaporated. Consultants take juicy contracts and run lots of models. They think they're doing a good job. But they're not.Is there someone specific to blame? I think not. It's part ignorance and part Thatcherism. What should I do?Well, it's essential the scheme is stopped. The Statutory Consultation closes on Tuesday 13 January 2026. Please let them have your views ... but read the final section below before clicking the link to the Statutory Consultation. It's important to understand how Thames Water process your responses.I suggest that you may want to do more. The water industry deserves to be harassed from top to bottom. In addition to responding to the Statutory Consultation, please find a way of doing one or more of the following:
My own approach is to target Ofwat. They are nominally still in charge of regulating the water companies. On 3 December 2025, Ofwat allowed the RAPID consortium to announce an overlapping SESRO consultation closing on 29 January 2026, seemingly without bothering to publicise the means of making representation. Ofwat deserves a very full inbox.
If you've visited all the blue pages, here are some contact
email addresses that may help you. They are all official (not personal) email addresses.
helen.campbell@ofwat.gov.uk
layla.moran.mp@parliament.uk MP for West Oxford and Abingdon.
olly.glover.mp@parliament.uk MP for Didcot and Wantage.
Important information about the words you chooseWhatever you decide to do, please do it in your own words. Don't rely on organisations or individuals to speak for you.Please study the material you find here & elsewhere and come to your own conclusions about SESRO. It's important that you use your own words to state what's wrong with (or unnecessary about) the SESRO scheme. Sadly, Thames Water won't pause to read your comments and objections. They farm out the job of looking at consultation responses to a third party. They did this with the responses to the Non-Statutory Consultation held in Summer 2024. Any element of democracy is nominal. If you mention my name, or the name of the premier opposition group, they will downweight your response. They will judge you infected and not expressing your own view. UpdatesUnexpectedly, the SESRO consultation has been extended to 23 January 2026. Scroll up to top of this page.I will re-freeze my SESRO website on that date. Any further comment or amendment will appear separately here.
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