Concern over reservoir plan

South East Water unveiled a proposal to set up a reservoir at Clay Hill, near Ringmer, on Thursday last week.

The company said it would need to create the reservoir to make sure there was enough water for the region.

But people living on the proposed site have criticised the idea.

Cllr Bob Peters, whose family has worked on Plashetts Park Farm since the 1930s, said: 'It's a completely unsuitable site.

'Much of the land isn't flat so there would have to be a huge amount of excavation, the environmental upset would be tremendous.

'We would lose miles of hedgerow and about 200 oak trees. South East Water haven't talked to us at all.'

Cllr Peters said the land was owned by a charitable trust which had no intention of selling the land to South East Water.

Mike Cameron, who lives at Plashetts Park Farm Cottages, was worried the water company would try to get the land through a compulsory purchase order.

He said: 'South East Water has secured a 1,000 acre site in Broad Oak, south of Cantebury, by compulsory purchase order and it will happen here unless there is enough opposition to stop it.

'This is one of the oldest farm landscapes in the south of England and is more than 1,000 years old, the environmental impact would be enormous especially on the bats which forage and feed on the land.'

A spokesman for South East Water confirmed it did not own the land.

He said the plan was not a detailed design but an early assessment of how the land could accommodate a reservoir.

The company has estimated it will need 135 million litres of additional water every day by 2035 to meet future demand.

Members of the public will be able to look at the plans at an public exhibition at Ringmer Village Hall, Lewes Road, Ringmer, on June 25 from 2pm 8pm.