Drought-hit farmers demand reservoir planning shake-up

Farmers are struggling to drought-proof their businesses because planning delays and five-figure approval costs are holding up urgently needed reservoirs, rural campaigners have warned.

As dry conditions continue, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said growers needed to capture more winter rainfall for use during increasingly hot summers.

Farmers can face two approval processes before developing a reservoir: permission to construct it and an abstraction licence allowing them to take water from another source to fill it.

The CLA said both stages could be slow and costly, with approval-related expenses reportedly reaching six figures. According to the organisation, farmers spend an average of £45,000 obtaining permission before construction begins.

It also claimed that only 34 on-farm reservoirs had been completed during the past five years.

CLA president Gavin Lane said: “Few farmers need telling that the best way to cope with hotter, drier summers is to store more water. But the planning and abstraction licencing systems make building reservoirs unnecessarily tricky and expensive.”

Some projects can proceed through existing permitted development rights, avoiding the need for a full planning application. However, the CLA said farmers’ experiences varied considerably between local authorities.

While some applications were approved quickly, others took years or faced demands for surveys that made projects unaffordable.

“Some applications sail through the planning process quickly using the existing permitted development right but others can take years or are stopped by requests for prohibitively expensive surveys. There’s little consistency between local planning authorities,” Mr Lane said.

The CLA wants the government to introduce a dedicated permitted development right for farm reservoirs, arguing that this would cut costs and allow projects to move forward more quickly.

“Government must introduce a dedicated permitted development right for farm reservoirs. Farmers can then build them quickly and at lower cost,” Mr Lane said.

The organisation has also called for a review of the abstraction licensing system, alongside affordable loans and redesigned grants to help farmers meet substantial construction and approval costs.

“We need a review of various problems with abstraction licencing combined with farmers needing affordable loans and better-designed grants so they aren’t waiting years for the solutions we need now,” Mr Lane said.

The CLA warned that lengthy delays could leave farms facing avoidable water shortages during future dry summers. It said faster decisions and more accessible financial support would help farmers capture winter rainfall rather than seek additional water when rivers and other sources were already under pressure.