Member Article

Northumbrian Water promise £1bn North East spending

Northumbrian Water has pledged to invest around £1bn in services to its customers in the North East between 2015 and 2020.

The Durham-based firm say the investment will protect and create jobs among its network of suppliers and contractors as well as encouraging new business to the area.

Investment will be used to improve sewers to reduce flooding risk; cleaning of water pipes; improvements to 12 sewage treatment works to improve the quality of water returned to rivers and improvements to protect bathing waters from potential pollution.

Heidi Mottram, Northumbrian Water’s chief executive officer, said: “This is a major commitment to further improve the infrastructure of water supply and sewerage services in the North East, and it will have a significant knock-on effect in terms of our regional economy.

“As well as improving the service we provide for our 2.7 million customers, we will be making a major contribution to our network of suppliers and contractors based in the region. By making sure we have water and sewerage services that are second to none, new businesses will be encouraged to come to the area.

“We have been consulting with our customers and stakeholders all over the region and discussing our findings with a group called the Water Forum. This independent group is made up of a wide range of representatives who scrutinise and challenge our plans. We have developed proposals for the future through this process, and we now want to check that we have reflected our customers’ views correctly.”

Northumbrian Water is currently updating its business plan which will be published in December, and is urging customers to submit their proposals via the planning website here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .