Yahoo News Northumbrian Water bills to rise £79 a year as £2.6 billion investment announced
Northumbrian Water has announced the "most ambitious" investment plan in its history with a five-year programme of improvement works set to begin this spring.
The company, which supplies water and sewerage services to the whole of the North East, will invest £2.6 billion into the region to improve the local water and sewer network. The work will include upgrades to pipelines, treatment works and pumping stations, with a series of key projects expected to create 3,000 jobs in the region with the Northumbrian Water Group each year.
The news comes as industry body Water UK confirmed today that the average household in England and Wales is set to see their yearly water bill increase by £123 on average from April. The 26% rise will take the average annual water bill from £480 to £603, meaning households face paying around an extra £10 a month.
READ MORE: Burglars targeted 85 new build homes across the North East in £100,000 crime spree
READ MORE: CCTV images released as theft in Newcastle's Grainger Market investigated by police
However, those in the North East will see the lowest increase in bills across England, with Northumbrian Water saying that its customers will see their water bill increase by around £79 a year on average, a rise of 19%. This will work out at approximately an extra £6 per month for water services in the region, with North East bills remaining among the lowest in the country.
The company said that customers will be paying £1.39 per day on average for their water and sewerage services from April 2025, which adds up to around £507 a year for the average household water bill in the North East.
Northumbrian Water has vowed that the funds raised by increased water bills are guaranteed only to fund improvements in the region, with the water company also having committed to spending 60p in every pound with local suppliers to ensure funds stay in the region to support jobs and the local economy.
Head of Affordability Support at Northumbrian Water, Mark Wilkinson, said: "It's important we keep delivering a service our customers can rely on, including producing clean, clear, and great tasting tap water, as well as protecting the environment. This is why we continue to invest in the future of the North East's water and sewer network.
"We do understand though, that the increase in water bill prices can be a concern for our customers. We want to make sure we have lots of support available from payment plans to payment breaks through to, low-income discounts and free debt support, thanks to our partnership with Stepchange Debt Charity."
He added: "Last year we helped over 100,000 customers with financial support, and we want to reassure our customers that this help will continue again this year." Northumbrian Water has a financial support section on its website where customers can seek help with paying their bills, as well as use an eligibility checker to find out which financial support schemes they can apply for.
Among the projects set to be undertaken as part of Northumbrian Water's investment plan are a £2.2m project at the service reservoir in Fenham, which will support the continued safety and resilience of the site as well as protect water supplies for customers in Newcastle, with work expected to start in April. The company is also working with Newcastle City Council as it plans work to carry out maintenance on the two water pipes that lie within the structure of the Tyne Bridge.
Elsewhere in the region, work is under way on a £3.6m programme of water mains renewal in the Felling and Pelaw areas of Gateshead, adding resilience to the local network and protecting water quality for customers. And £56m is being invested in the creation of a new reservoir and connecting water mains at Springwell Village, which is designed to deliver benefits for more than 250,000 customers across South Tyneside and Wearside for the next 100 years.
In County Durham, Project Pipeline is a £155m investment in the resilience and quality of water supplies for 200,000 customers across the south of County Durham and into Teesside. In total, 57km of new pipeline will be constructed, replacing old water mains, some of which have served the area for more than a century.
And in Northumberland, work has been taking place across a number of sewage treatment works in the county including Hexham, Felton and Bellingham, to protect watercourses. The projects include upgrades to the treatment works to ensure they are fit for the future and, where required, increases in storm water capacity to mitigate the impact of population growth and climate change, to reduce the risk of spills to the environment.
