During March 2008, Portsmouth Water consulted the public to seek feedback from the local community on the types of activities they would be interested to see provided at the reservoir.

Three activity scenarios were presented to provide some idea of the different scale of landscape and ecological provision possible, together with different intensity of visitor facilities. These activity scenarios were intended to provide a starting point for discussion at the exhibition and workshop, and in the feedback forms.

Low Activity Scenario
The aim of the low activity scenario is to provide improved access to the area by walking and cycling, with an emphasis on promoting a quiet environment for wildlife and informal recreation (such as birdwatching). The figure below shows a masterplan for this activity scenario illustrating the location and scale of provision.

Medium Activity Scenario
The aim of the medium activity scenario is to provide improved access to the site by walking and cycling, with the emphasis on providing a quiet environment, while also providing some additional play, education and improved recreation facilities for angling and bird watching.

High Activity Scenario
The aim of the high activity scenario is to provide for larger numbers of visitors with facilities for a wide range of water sports including sailing and swimming, a larger visitor / education centre, opportunity for events, and for a research facility.

Feedback from the public: Overall it was clear from those attending the exhibitions and the community workshop that a low to medium activity scenario was favoured, with different people wanting to select a variety of uses from the activities proposed. On the whole, young people favoured a higher level of activity.

This very helpful feedback has been used by Portsmouth Water to develop the reservoir proposal and in particular to revise the outline plan.

The summer 2008 newsletter summarises the consultation response, sets out the land and water based recreational activities to be pursued, along with a revised outline plan.