Our early proposals

Where will the reservoir be located and why?

Broad Oak Water would be located just north of the village of Broad Oak, in north Canterbury, Kent.

The site is currently made up of open fields and is surrounded by Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Ancient Woodland. It sits to the south of the West Blean and Thornden Woods.

The site of the proposed reservoir is owned by South East Water and is one of very few locations in the region where a reservoir could be built, due to its unique geology and its ideal geography, in a valley right next to the River Stour. A reservoir at Broad Oak is also featured in Canterbury City Council’s emerging Local Plan.

The plan below shows the location of the proposed site in relation to Canterbury and locations for the infrastructure needed to abstract, store and supply water at Broad Oak:

What could the layout of the reservoir site look like?

The plan below shows a potential layout for Broad Oak Water, with the main entrance to the site from the A291, Herne Bay Road:

Take a bird's eye view of Broad Oak Water

This video shows our early proposals for Broad Oak Water starting from towards the A291, Herne Bay Road and travelling around the reservoir site back to the main embankment. It is not the final design, but a computer generated visualisation of the early proposals, built using gaming technology.