Unless a lost Roman town or Saxon citadel is found off Hythe Lane, Cheddar will have its new reservoir.

Bristol Water’s Mike King was speaking at a meeting in the village giving an overview of why the community had been chosen for a massive new water storage lake approximately a mile wide.

The proposed reservoir will lie to the south of the current reservoir swallowing up hundreds of acres of farmland, a small number of homes, farms and stables.

Locals in the Wedmore Road area are mostly concerned with the dangers of fleets of heavy lorries and plant rumbling past their homes and causing traffic chaos.

Fuel has been added to the controversy that the dust, noise and traffic will see house prices plunging.

Residents contacting the Gazette this week consistently raised the possibility of the water company building a construction road direct from the A38. This, they say, would solve the potential problem.

Bristol Water has pledged to minimise the short-term adverse effects on local communities and build the reservoir “without causing any lasting adverse impact on our existing Site of Special Scientific Interest at Cheddar”.

This, however, cuts no ice with those living off the B3151 in the new homes that could be affected if a relief road was not constructed.

One couple, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Gazette they thought once the reservoir was finished it would be great but there could be several years of disruption. Nobody would want to buy their home if it was next to a giant building site, they said.

Mr King told councillors at the parish room that consultations with land owners would take place, with planning permission applied for possibly as early as summer next year. If it was decided the reservoir was required by 2017 then work would start in 2014.

The water official said that the period of 2020-2025 was more likely.

Councillors quizzed Mr King about various aspects of the project.

Geology was the main reason for the site’s location. Originally in the 1920s the current reservoir had been envisaged as a double reservoir but that idea had been discarded for a number of practical reasons. He said the company would use the Cheddar springs as the source along with extracting water from the River Axe. Mr King stressed it would not affect pot holing on the Mendips.

Speaking to the Gazette this week Bristol Water’s Paul Kelson said the new reservoir would take into account the recreational needs of locals and also address the huge amount of wildlife that it would attract.

He also said the current reservoir would continue as usual during the works so people could still take their dogs for a walk, go jogging, cycling and sailing.

Bristol Water said they wanted to create not just a new source of water but an important facility and amenity that will become an integral part of the local landscape and history.

What do you think of the relief road idea and the reservoir proposals in general? Please send your views to The Editor, Cheddar Valley Gazette, Southover, Wells, BA5 1UH or email editor@midsomnews.co.uk.