Llanishen Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Llanishen Reservoir is a Victorian
reservoir in North Cardiff in South Wales
. The reservoir is one of the reservoirs constructed as part of the Taff Fawr scheme for supplying water to Cardiff
and was completed in 1886. It forms part of the Nant Fawr Corridor from the top of Roath Park to the countryside beyond Cyncoed.
The reservoir was used for water supply until the mid 1970s when it became redundant. It is now only used for leisure activities and for 'topping up' the adjacent Lisvane Reservoir
.. Its current owners, Western Power Distribution
(WPD), propose to redevelop the reservoir site, but there are objections from national governing bodies, the County Council, local residents and both local and national politicians.
The reservoir is retained by an earth-filled embankment with a clay core some 10 metres (32.8 ft) high and about 1173 metres (3,848.4 ft) long. The external embankment face is grassed whilst the internal face has stone pitching over the upper part and concrete over the lower part. It has a maximum surface area of water of 23.8 hectares (58.8 acre) and a capacity of 1440909 cubic metres (50,885,220.4 cu ft).
The reservoir is underlain by the St Maughan's Formation of the Lower Devonian age. Glacial till deposits of the Devonian age form part of the northern shore of the reservoir. The reservoir may be on the northern limb of the Cowbridge anticline.
The reservoir was transferred to Welsh Water
in 1973 when the Welsh Water Authority was formed, and it supplied water until the mid 1970s. In 1996 Welsh Water's holding company was renamed as Hyder plc
and the group acquired South Wales Electricity plc
. After Hyder's share price collapsed in 1999 and 2000, the Hyder Group was sold to WPD on terms recommended by the Hyder Board after a competitive and hostile takeover battle. WPD is the American-owned
electricity distribution network operator
for South West England and South and West Wales.
Welsh Assembly members were concerned that the takeover would mean jobs being transferred to Bristol and Cheshire, and at its effect "on consumers' interests, on the environment, and on the wider economy".
WPD acquired the reservoir from Welsh Water in 2001 when Welsh Water was acquired by the not-for-profit organisation Glas Cymru: the reservoir was sold to a WPD subsidiary, Hyder Industrial Group Ltd, which was later renamed Western Power Distribution Investments Ltd.
The reservoir, which forms part of the Nant Fawr corridor, has been redundant since the 1970s and has only been used for leisure purposes and for 'topping up' the adjacent Lisvane Reservoir
.
The reservoir is listed as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest
(SNCI) as it has pondweed
and stonewort, and common toad
s breed there. The grassland and scrub surrounding the reservoir is also an SNCI due to the grass snake
s and slow-worms there.
The banks of the reservoir are listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) due to the diversity of waxcap fungi
discovered growing on them. WPD appealed against this listing stating the Countryside Council for Wales
's (CCW) decision was 'premature, arbirtrary and unfair', but in January 2007 a High Court Judge upheld the SSSI designation and said it was 'an important site'.
The reservoir was also listed by Cadw
in July 2009 as a building of special architectural or historic interest, despite an appeal from WPD against the listing.
, windsurfing
, powerboating
and canoeing
courses. The centre, which is owned and managed by Cardiff County Council had been running at the reservoir for 30 years, though had to relocate to Cardiff Bay
to continue operating due to the drain-down.
The Centre has gained national recognition as both a 'grass-roots' training centre through the RYA
's OnBoard scheme and as a first class race training centre & club. The Centre has also produced National & International class sailors over the years.
The reservoir was also once popular with anglers (through the Cardiff Fly Fishing Club), picnickers, birdwatchers and walkers. Fishing at the reservoir stopped in 1998 and many of the other activities have been curtailed since 2004 due to the security fence that was constructed around the banks of the reservoir and (less securely) to the site boundary.
Many people still walk between the 'inner' and 'outer' fences, due to a number of natural and man-made gaps in the outer fence and the natural hedges. Although the site is monitored, only some of the 'gaps' are resecured.
of the decision and the minister withdrew her defence after considering WPD's submission. The Court referred the decision back to the minister and a decision is awaited.
In March 2010, work started to drain the legal limit of 3 metres (9.8 ft) of water from the reservoir into the nearby Nant Fawr stream. WPD say that the drain-down is required as a result of a statutory inspection carried out by WS Atkins PLC
. But the Environment Agency
have disagreed. The drainage is opposed by opponents of the redevelopment, who claim that the reservoir will take 8 years to refill if totally emptied.
The public enquiry considered the requirement for drain-down and the ecological effects in detail. On the drain-down the Planning Inspector concluded that opponents' suspicions had been "fully rebutted". And after considering a lot of evidence the Inspector concluded that CCW were content for development to proceed and that "significant ecological benefits would result from the development".
In May 2010, WPD applied to the Environment Agency for a discharge licence in order to completely drain the reservoir, which was granted in July 2010. The issue was taken to UK Parliament by Jonathan Evans where he stated that an independent report by the Halcrow Group (advising for the Environment Agency) explained that draining the reservoir could create 'new risks to reservoir safety'. Evans' predecessor, Julie Morgan
, had previously taken the issue of saving the reservoir site to parliament, and had garnered support from politicians such as Peter Hain
(the Welsh Secretary) and Ed Miliband
(later leader of the Labour Party
), who visited the site during the May 2010 general election campaign, commenting on the site's tranquillity.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
reservoir in North Cardiff in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. The reservoir is one of the reservoirs constructed as part of the Taff Fawr scheme for supplying water to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and was completed in 1886. It forms part of the Nant Fawr Corridor from the top of Roath Park to the countryside beyond Cyncoed.
The reservoir was used for water supply until the mid 1970s when it became redundant. It is now only used for leisure activities and for 'topping up' the adjacent Lisvane Reservoir
Lisvane Reservoir
Lisvane Reservoir is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Lisvane, Cardiff, south Wales.The reservoir is one of the reservoirs constructed as part of the Taff Fawr scheme for supplying water to Cardiff, completed in 1886...
.. Its current owners, Western Power Distribution
Western Power Distribution
Western Power Distribution is the trading identity of four electricity distribution companies - WPD South West , WPD South Wales and WPD Midlands...
(WPD), propose to redevelop the reservoir site, but there are objections from national governing bodies, the County Council, local residents and both local and national politicians.
History
In 1881, a report was commissioned on water resources within a reasonable distance of Cardiff. The report concluded that the Taff Fawr scheme would fulfil the town's requirements at the least cost and it was decided to create Llanishen Reservoir. Construction of the reservoir started in 1882 by the engineer James Simpson for the Cardiff Waterworks Company and was completed in 1886.The reservoir is retained by an earth-filled embankment with a clay core some 10 metres (32.8 ft) high and about 1173 metres (3,848.4 ft) long. The external embankment face is grassed whilst the internal face has stone pitching over the upper part and concrete over the lower part. It has a maximum surface area of water of 23.8 hectares (58.8 acre) and a capacity of 1440909 cubic metres (50,885,220.4 cu ft).
The reservoir is underlain by the St Maughan's Formation of the Lower Devonian age. Glacial till deposits of the Devonian age form part of the northern shore of the reservoir. The reservoir may be on the northern limb of the Cowbridge anticline.
The reservoir was transferred to Welsh Water
Welsh Water
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water is a company which supplies drinking water and wastewater services to most of Wales and parts of western England.It is regulated under the Water Industry Act 1991.-History:...
in 1973 when the Welsh Water Authority was formed, and it supplied water until the mid 1970s. In 1996 Welsh Water's holding company was renamed as Hyder plc
Hyder (defunct company)
Hyder was a Welsh water, gas and electricity multi-utility and infrastructure company created in 1996. It broke up in 2001 following a financial crisis.-History:...
and the group acquired South Wales Electricity plc
SWALEC
SWALEC was an electricity supply and distribution company which was bought out in 1996 for £872m following the de-regulation of the electricity supply industry in the UK....
. After Hyder's share price collapsed in 1999 and 2000, the Hyder Group was sold to WPD on terms recommended by the Hyder Board after a competitive and hostile takeover battle. WPD is the American-owned
PPL (utility)
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
electricity distribution network operator
Distribution Network Operator
Distribution network operators are companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets....
for South West England and South and West Wales.
Welsh Assembly members were concerned that the takeover would mean jobs being transferred to Bristol and Cheshire, and at its effect "on consumers' interests, on the environment, and on the wider economy".
WPD acquired the reservoir from Welsh Water in 2001 when Welsh Water was acquired by the not-for-profit organisation Glas Cymru: the reservoir was sold to a WPD subsidiary, Hyder Industrial Group Ltd, which was later renamed Western Power Distribution Investments Ltd.
The reservoir, which forms part of the Nant Fawr corridor, has been redundant since the 1970s and has only been used for leisure purposes and for 'topping up' the adjacent Lisvane Reservoir
Lisvane Reservoir
Lisvane Reservoir is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Lisvane, Cardiff, south Wales.The reservoir is one of the reservoirs constructed as part of the Taff Fawr scheme for supplying water to Cardiff, completed in 1886...
.
Protection
Site of Nature Conservation Interest
Site of Nature Conservation Interest is a designation used in many parts of the United Kingdom to protect areas of importance for wildlife and geology at a county scale...
(SNCI) as it has pondweed
Pondweed
Pondweed refers to many species and genera of aquatic plants and green algae:*Potamogeton, a diverse and worldwide genus*Elodea, found in North America*Aponogeton, in Africa, Asia and Australasia*Groenlandia, a genus of aquatic plants...
and stonewort, and common toad
Common Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...
s breed there. The grassland and scrub surrounding the reservoir is also an SNCI due to the grass snake
Grass Snake
The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...
s and slow-worms there.
The banks of the reservoir are listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI) due to the diversity of waxcap fungi
Hygrocybe
Hygrocybe is a genus of agarics in the family Hygrophoraceae. Called "waxcaps" in English , basidiocarps are often brightly coloured and have waxy to slimy caps, white spores, and smooth, ringless stems...
discovered growing on them. WPD appealed against this listing stating the Countryside Council for Wales
Countryside Council for Wales
The Countryside Council for Wales is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body. It is the Welsh Assembly Government's wildlife conservation authority for Wales...
's (CCW) decision was 'premature, arbirtrary and unfair', but in January 2007 a High Court Judge upheld the SSSI designation and said it was 'an important site'.
The reservoir was also listed by Cadw
Cadw
-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...
in July 2009 as a building of special architectural or historic interest, despite an appeal from WPD against the listing.
Leisure
Until Spring 2010, Cardiff Sailing Centre operated at the reservoir offering dinghy sailingDinghy sailing
Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls:* the sails* the foils ....
, windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
, powerboating
Powerboating
Power boating describes activities performed in a motorized boat. Generally, a power boat has a high power-to-weight ratio and a hull design that allows for easy planing, which allows for higher speed and improved handling. Also, the shape of the actual boat is usually very streamlined, which...
and canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
courses. The centre, which is owned and managed by Cardiff County Council had been running at the reservoir for 30 years, though had to relocate to Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
to continue operating due to the drain-down.
The Centre has gained national recognition as both a 'grass-roots' training centre through the RYA
Rya
A rya is a traditional Scandinavian wool rug with a long pile of about 1 to 3 inches. They were made using a form of the Ghiordes knot to make the double-sided pile fabric. Though rya means "rug" in English, the original meaning in Sweden of rya was a bed cover with a knotted pile...
's OnBoard scheme and as a first class race training centre & club. The Centre has also produced National & International class sailors over the years.
The reservoir was also once popular with anglers (through the Cardiff Fly Fishing Club), picnickers, birdwatchers and walkers. Fishing at the reservoir stopped in 1998 and many of the other activities have been curtailed since 2004 due to the security fence that was constructed around the banks of the reservoir and (less securely) to the site boundary.
Many people still walk between the 'inner' and 'outer' fences, due to a number of natural and man-made gaps in the outer fence and the natural hedges. Although the site is monitored, only some of the 'gaps' are resecured.
Proposed redevelopment
WPD have proposed redevelopment since 2002. The latest proposal is for 300 new homes, surrounding a much reduced water area, and a connected 'wetland area', as well as a new sailing club and wildlife and education centre. This proposal was recommended by the Planning Inspector, but rejected by the Environment Minister. WPD requested a judicial reviewJudicial review in English Law
Judicial review is a procedure in English administrative law by which the courts in England and Wales supervise the exercise of public power on the application of an individual...
of the decision and the minister withdrew her defence after considering WPD's submission. The Court referred the decision back to the minister and a decision is awaited.
In March 2010, work started to drain the legal limit of 3 metres (9.8 ft) of water from the reservoir into the nearby Nant Fawr stream. WPD say that the drain-down is required as a result of a statutory inspection carried out by WS Atkins PLC
WS Atkins PLC
WS Atkins plc is a multinational engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services company headquartered in Epsom, United Kingdom...
. But the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
have disagreed. The drainage is opposed by opponents of the redevelopment, who claim that the reservoir will take 8 years to refill if totally emptied.
The public enquiry considered the requirement for drain-down and the ecological effects in detail. On the drain-down the Planning Inspector concluded that opponents' suspicions had been "fully rebutted". And after considering a lot of evidence the Inspector concluded that CCW were content for development to proceed and that "significant ecological benefits would result from the development".
In May 2010, WPD applied to the Environment Agency for a discharge licence in order to completely drain the reservoir, which was granted in July 2010. The issue was taken to UK Parliament by Jonathan Evans where he stated that an independent report by the Halcrow Group (advising for the Environment Agency) explained that draining the reservoir could create 'new risks to reservoir safety'. Evans' predecessor, Julie Morgan
Julie Morgan
Julie Morgan AM is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Cardiff North from 1997 until 2010; she is married to former First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan. Julie Morgan won the Cardiff North seat in the Welsh Assembly in the 2011 elections.-Early life,...
, had previously taken the issue of saving the reservoir site to parliament, and had garnered support from politicians such as Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
(the Welsh Secretary) and Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
(later leader of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
), who visited the site during the May 2010 general election campaign, commenting on the site's tranquillity.