Additional reporting by Meghan Shaw

Long-harboured plans to build a new reservoir in the Kent countryside are finally moving forward as contractors carry out the first phase of ground investigation works.

South East Water (SEW) is planning to build a 200-acre facility on farmland in Broad Oak, near Canterbury - a project that has been discussed for decades.

Trial pits are now being dug and soil samples sent off for analysis as bosses enter the “exploratory stages” of the £362m scheme.

Full construction is not due to start before 2030, and SEW says the site could supply homes and businesses in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay by the “mid-2030s”.

It is due to hold 5,126 million litres of water and supply 22 million litres of water a day, equivalent to 275,000 full baths.

Project manager Ben McKellar says the surveys will help the team prepare the full planning application, which is due to be submitted in 2028.

SEW, which bought the sprawling expanse of farmland in the 1970s, plans to take raw water from the Great Stour near Monkton and hold it at the reservoir until it is needed, before treating it and pumping it to homes and businesses.

Mr McKellar said: “It is a very large project. In the coming months, residents will see us pulling off site with regards to the ground investigation.

“It is only when we award contracts in about 2030 that they will start seeing some construction happening, and that will be over a period of around five years or so.

“Broad Oak has been on the cards for many decades. We are at a stage where we now need the water. We have been putting it off, but now it is time to build.

“This reservoir will provide resilience to our water network. It will make sure that our customers will have water flowing to their taps.”

Footpaths and cycle paths, an art trail and picnic areas are all due to be created at the site in a bid to transform it into a destination for families to enjoy.