Anglian Water has this week put the wheels in motion on its new five year, £5billion business plan to deliver on its promise to customers.
The water company will be investing in the areas that customers said matter most to them during Anglian Water’s biggest ever public consultation. The Business Plan this shaped is supported by more than 90 per cent of customers.
The plan promises to deliver a £60million war on leakage; investment to ensure resilient water and water recycling services, to protect customers and the environment from severe weather such as drought and flooding; and commitments to tackle the impacts of climate change.
“There is also a pledge on the cost of living,” said Martyn Oakley, Anglian Water’s Director of Customer Service. “While, committing to this multibillion pound investment programme, average customer bills are dropping by 7 per cent this year - the biggest percentage fall of all other water and sewerage companies in the UK. We’ve also introduced a brand new tariff for those struggling to pay and the Anglian Water Assistance Fund has been increased to £1million to help customers facing real financial hardship.”
The average annual bill has dropped by £29 to £402 this year, or £1.10 per day. Customers with a water meter pay even less, with the average bill dropping to £371.
Projects will be starting right across the region from today, delivered by Anglian Water and its carefully selected supply chain partners which have signed new contracts that could run for 15 years - an industry first. These longer partnerships will make the business even more efficient, collaborative and innovative, while ensuring customers are completely satisfied with the service they receive, at a price that is also as low as possible until the end of the decade.
The supply chain partners will deliver an extensive programme of work between now and 2020 but they will only recover head office costs and earn profit when they outperform Anglian Water’s business plan.
Projects include:
· £19million in the first year of the Plan to keep leakage levels the lowest in the UK. This is part of a five year, £60million war on leakage
· £3.5million for flood projects that will help to overcome the challenges of complex, multi-owned, and interconnected drainage networks
· £10million to connect hundreds more homes to the mains sewerage network for the first time in the next year, with more than £70million investment over the five years
· Free water efficiency home audits and water saving devices for customers across the entire Anglian Water region as part of an enhanced water efficiency offering
Plus the following in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire specifically:
· £22million to improve the resilience of our network from Grafham Water Treatment Works, which supplies water for over 1.5 million people across the three counties
· 116k making improvements to our WRC at Chawston, Bedfordshire
· £627k for first time sewerage systems, connecting people to mains sewers
· £586k for improvements to our sewer network in Biggleswade
· Flood alleviation schemes in Dunstable