COMPULSORY water metering and more recycling are vital if Kent is to cope with the worst water shortages in more than 80 years, a report has warned.

The Kent branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has also called for arrangements to be made to transfer water from better-supplied areas of the UK, like the Midlands.

Its report, entiltled A Water Resource Strategy for Kent, examines what measures are needed to cope with the drought conditions afflicting Kent as tens of thousands of new homes are built.

A key recommendation is for Ashford, Canterbury, Thanet and Medway to be formally designated as formal "water scarce" areas.

In a foreword, Kent CPRE director Hilary Newport says developers are making "woefully poor progress" when it comes to building more water-efficient homes and that existing supplies are barely able to support the existing population "let alone those of the 20 per cent additional households proposed in the name of sustainable development."

As a result, the government’s determination to build 122,000 homes between now and 2026 would see the current drought "severely exacerbated."

But on a visit to Ashford, the housing and planning minister Yvette Cooper said talk of a crisis was exagerated and that Environment Agency and water companies were confident they could cope.

She said: "It is wrong to think that we do not have enough water as a nation. We can look at ways in which we can get water and use water. It is people that use water, not houses," said Ms Cooper.

"The Environment Agency and the water companies have all been involved in looking at the plans for Ashford and Kent and believe there is a way forward."

But her optimisim is at odds with the CPRE report, which also criticises the water companies.

"From what we know of the companies’ general intentions for addressing future demand growth, we have to conclude that few of the options so far included in their business plans are likely to have the makings of a coherent and effective action plan," it states.