Anglian Water is proposing that if developers can provide evidence of intention to build new homes to a level of 100 litres per person per day or less, it would waive the water and sewerage infrastructure connection charges.
The proposal comes in a second consultation launched by Anglian on proposed changes to the charges it makes to developers, Self Lay Provider (SLP) and New Appointments and Variations (NAV) customers for connecting new homes.
Anyone building a new home within the UK must comply with Part G of The Building Regulations 2010. These regulations state that any new homes must be built to provide no more than 125 litres of water per person per day (p/p/p/d).
The water company has ambitions to reach levels of around 80 litres p/p/p/d. As part of the charging regime, Anglian Water would like to incentivise developers to build water efficient homes. It is now proposing that if developers can provide evidence of intention to build to a level of 100 litres p/p/p/d or less, it would waive the water and sewerage infrastructure charges.
In December 2016, Ofwat published the final rules for developer charging, which are due to come into effect from April 2018. The rules require that companies can only levy a single charge for offsite infrastructure (water and sewerage).
Announcing the consultation, Anglian that the rules present an opportunity to make a step change in its approach to developer charging.
Iain Amis, Head of Developer Services, commented:
“A key aspect of these plans is the discount we are offering to Developers who build houses which encourages home owners to use less water. The average consumption per person per day is around 125 litres.
“If a new home uses innovative technology such as rainwater harvesting and water efficient showers, which help the occupants to reduce their consumption to 100 litres a day, then we will discount the infrastructure charges for that connection. Currently, that means a discount of £722 per connection for dual service areas.”
“We have been at the forefront of the charging rules development and fully support reform in this area. This second consultation document sets out in further detail, our proposals for the new Developer charging arrangements. This document builds on our significant work in this area, including our initial consultation published in February and two engagement events held throughout 2017.”
The proposals set out in detail how the water company would like to incentivise water efficiency in new developments via its new charging regime.
The Ofwat rules do not require companies to send environmental price signals in their charges, but they do allow companies to incentivise sustainable solutions. Anglian Water said:
“Given the water scarcity challenges we face, we are pursuing this opportunity to provide water efficiency incentives.“
The new charges will be available in early 2018 ahead of them taking effect in April 2018.
Deadline to submit comments is 30th November - click here to download the consultation document
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