South East Water has pushed back the gate two submission date for its proposed new Broad Oak Reservoir near Canterbury in Kent for a second time. The reservoir is among a number of solutions in the RAPID programme of strategic resource options.
Image South East Water: still shot from video of 3D reservoir visualisation
In a letter dated 16 October 2026 to the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID), John Halsall, Chief Executive Officer, South East Water, said he was “writing to advise” that the water company would be deferring the Gate 2 submission for Broad Oak Water to 4 December 2026, explaining:
“A project of this scale requires absolute rigour, which is why we are taking the time to review our plans through our Board Assurance process. Throughout this process, our core priority remains - to deliver this vital resource providing a sustainable and resilient supply of drinking water for our customers in East Kent.”
Replying today, Paul Hickey, Senior Director, RAPID writes:
“We note our previous discussions with you and your team about the possibility of further delaying your gate two submission. You are requesting a second revised date so that you can continue to complete a rigorous board assurance process.
“We acknowledge that this is needed for you to provide a finalised and assured submission. Therefore, in line with our discussions, we accept your proposal to formally change the Broad Oak Reservoir gate two submission date to 4 December 2026.”
The water company had previously written to RAPID in December last year to formally request the delay of its Gate 2 submission from December 2025 to September 2026.
The first request followed a previous Checkpoint meeting with the RAPID team – Ben McKellar, South East Water’s project manager for the Broad Oak reservoir explained in the letter:
“The reason for the delay is due to clarification provided by the RAPID team with regards to the Gate 2 assessment requirements as well as some additional optioneering. In order to provide the required information with the latest data we therefore require more time to compile this information.”
RAPID allowed the first request for additional time in order for South East Water to investigate and identify alternative abstraction points and understand the requirements for pre-treatment.
The letter sent in reply by RAPID on 29 January concluded by saying that Gate two, or equivalent, of the RAPID programme represents an important checkpoint for the solution's development and that South East Water “should use the additional time to prepare a good quality and complete submission that meets regulators’ expectations.”
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