Meyrick Road / West Street (Shaft W1)

We received planning permission for Shaft W1 in 2024, with the shaft located just south of the rail line in Bedhampton, around 50 metres to the west of Bedhampton Station, on land at the western end of Palk Road. The shaft will be built on a site now owned by Bellway Homes, where the new pipelines will leave our Bedhampton Pumping Station site and head towards the reservoir. The planning consent for Shaft W1 allows us to install it, ahead of the development of the land. Our main planning application for the remainder of the new reservoir pipelines has also been formally approved by Havant Borough Council.

To minimise disruption for local communities, we will be using micro-tunnelling to build the majority of the reservoir pipelines. More detail on what micro-tunnelling involves can be found in our information leaflet, which includes an overview map of the pipelines route. You can also view the route in detail using our online Google-Earth-style map and leave us your questions and comments.

We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we carry out this important work, which is a key part of the overall Havant Thicket Reservoir project.

We will continue to write to local residents and businesses every three months to share progress updates and tell you about what will be happening next

July 2026 update

Shaft W1 marks the start of the reservoir pipelines route and will allow us to build the first section of pipework. Work began on site in April 2026, with our team setting up the construction compound just south of Bedhampton train station.

This included bringing a large crane to site and putting up hoarding between the site and the railway line.

The shaft itself is now being built. It has an inside diameter of 8 metres and will be 10 metres deep when finished. Each section of the shaft is formed on site as a full concrete ring, before the earth inside is dug out. The final phase of shaft construction should happen in mid-July 2026, when the bottom of the shaft will be sealed with concrete. This will need around 13 deliveries to site by concrete trucks over the course of a day

Later this year, the next phase of work will get underway at our W1 site, as set out below.

• Quarter 1 = January to end of March
• Quarter 2 = April to end of June
• Quarter 3 = July to end of September
• Quarter 4 = October to end of December.

Q4 2026 to Q2 2027: Construction of tunnelled pipelines section between Shaft W2, south-west corner of Hooks Lane Playing Fields, Bedhampton, and Shaft W1, Meyrick Road. The tunnelling work will be well below the railway tracks, roads, footpaths, public spaces, utilities like gas and water pipes and electricity cables, and tree roots. The pipelines route also avoids going directly under houses, although it will be installed much deeper than any foundations in any case. Shaft W1 will allow us to remove our Micro-Tunnel Boring Machine (MTBM) from underground, once it has completed tunnelling work from Shaft W2.

From tunnelling completion to Q1 2028: Pipework installation, testing and reinstatement. We will update you closer to the time with more information on our planned work

What this means for you

Working with the local planning and highways authorities, we have developed comprehensive plans for constructing the reservoir pipelines and effectively managing construction traffic. Our plans are focused on keeping disruption for local communities to a minimum, while building the pipelines efficiently and on schedule.

Construction traffic

All construction vehicles will use a designated route to reach the work site for Shaft W1. This will see vehicles travelling via Harts Farm Way, Brockhampton Road, West Street and Meyrick Road. A map showing further detail on the route is available by clicking here.

Vehicle movements will take place outside of local peak traffic periods as far as possible. We will also limit journeys by Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), such as tipper lorries and articulated lorries, as much as we can. On average, each day there will be two two-way trips (i.e. to and from site) by HGVs or similar vehicles.

Parking for residents

To allow safe access for construction vehicles to site, parking will need to be suspended in parts of two local roads from mid-April 2026. This arrangement will be in place initially for the Shaft W1 construction work until Autumn 2027. In total, 10 spaces will be temporarily taken out of use, as shown in blue on the map below.

Seven spaces will be suspended on West Street (section between Meyrick Road and Brockhampton Road), and three spaces at the northern end of Meyrick Road. Alternative parking will be on Brockhampton Road, Ranelagh Road, Knox Road and towards the western end of West Street. Notices will be put up ahead of the parking suspension starting, with clear signage in place while these temporary arrangements apply.

How to find out more

If you have a question or comment, you can send it to us using the ‘Ask us a question’ tool on this page. You can also leave a virtual pin including feedback on our reservoir pipelines online map.

You can contact us by emailing havantthicket@portsmouthwater.co.uk, or by calling 023 9249 9888 (24/7 for urgent issues).

Plus, you can write to us at: Havant Thicket Reservoir project, Portsmouth Water, PO Box 99, West Street, Havant, PO9 1LG.