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Water company wants to delay people moving into new homes due to sewage capacity
A water company in the East of England is urging councils to delay people moving into new homes until 2030 because its sewage system is at full capacity.
Water company wants to delay people moving into new homes due to sewage capacity #UKhousingA water company in the East of England is urging councils to delay people moving into new homes until 2030 because its sewage system is at full capacity #UKhousingAnglian Water Services has asked Norwich, South Norfolk and Broadland councils to impose planning conditions that would stop people moving into new homes until it has completed sewage upgrade work.
The company said it was the “environmentally responsible” thing to do because its water treatment plant at Whitlingham, outside Norwich, cannot cope with waste from any more new housing until improvement works are completed in 2030.
However, the councils have rebuffed Anglian Water and said they will continue to grant planning consent for new homes.
Phil Courtier, director of place at South Norfolk and Broadland Councils, said: “We immediately said that we could not have this condition.
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“Environment Agency modelling of the additional homes likely to be built shows there would be a negligible impact on the environment.
“We estimate that of the 13,000 new homes likely to be granted planning permission in the next three years, only about 1,000 would be occupied before the Whitlingham upgrade is due to be complete.
“We argue that is such a small impact as to be negligible.”
The councils have issued a joint statement making it clear that they will carry on approving planning applications despite Anglian Water’s demands.
Instead, the councils will assess planning applications individually, potentially requiring mitigation measures like drainage controls or alternative treatment systems, while monitoring total development and expecting Anglian Water to deliver upgrades within five years.
The councils have brought in consultants Sweco to pull together further evidence to fend off a potential legal challenge.
Anglian Water, which has also raised similar concerns about new housing elsewhere in Norfolk, does not have the power to block planning applications. However, the dispute could end up in the courts.
A spokesperson for Anglian Water said that despite consented sites having an “automatic right” to connect new homes to its water and sewerage networks, the company is not a statutory consultee in the planning application process.
“Therefore, we don’t have powers to prevent connections from new housing. However, in order to ensure we’re protecting the environment, we do need to take into account the capacity we have available in growing areas,” they said.
“In locations where additional homes would exceed existing capacity and be a risk to the environment, we may object or request that the local authority put a condition on the planning application to give us time to complete upgrades.”
The spokesperson added that the region is one of the fastest-growing in the country and expects 720,000 new residents by 2043.
“We feel that the environmentally responsible thing to do is to highlight where development poses such a risk to the environment,” they added.
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