Anglian Water to spend billions building up the East's resilience to extreme weather
Suffolk will get £234 million of investment
£9 billion pounds is to be spent across Suffolk and the East to tackle the threats of water scarcity, temperature rises and low rainfall.
Anglian Water says the money will go towards building the region's resilience up, to allow it to thrive long into the future.
In Norfolk specifically, £234 million will be invested - with £10.3 million of that's going to construct a new water recycling centre at Tuddenham.
Why is Anglian Water investing?
The East of England faces critical challenges to its growth and prosperity over the next two decades, as temperatures hit record highs, rainfall decreases, and over 720,000 new residents move to the area, according to a new independent report by Anglian Water.
Commissioned with Capital Economics, the report, entitled ‘Thriving East’, suggests that the challenges facing the East of England are some of the severest in the country, second only to London.
It also explains how the region can get ahead of these challenges, by investing and building resilience for the future.
Following the report, Anglian Water is proposing investing £9 billion into the East region between 2025 and 2030.
Of that, more than £234 million will be invested into Suffolk specifically.
It's hoped the plan will also help the water company create 7,000 jobs across the East of England.
What will the money be spent on in Suffolk?
In Suffolk, the company is planning to extend its strategic pipeline work – a regional water grid – in Suffolk by investing a further £37m in a pipeline to transport drinking water between Gazeley and Great Horkesley, and between Rede and Boyton Hall.
The company is also planning to extend its strategic pipeline – a regional water grid – by investing a further £13 million pipeline to transport water from the wetter north of its region to drier areas in the south and east.
"Our purpose is to bring environmental and social prosperity"
Peter Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of Anglian Water, said: “Our purpose is to bring environmental and social prosperity to the region we serve. Our region relies on water to facilitate economic growth, tourism, and to feed a significant part of the population.
“Our role is to facilitate growth and prosperity in the region through significant investment, with our most recent business plan for 2025-30 - our largest ever - outlining a proposed £9bn of essential investment in the region. This plan, created in consultation with regional stakeholders, is designed to address precisely the challenges Thriving East sets out.
“But to achieve this it will require close collaboration with local authorities, businesses, community groups and regulators to unlock opportunities for generations to come. We hope that this acts as a rallying cry to help bring together everyone who shares our ambition to capitalise on the many opportunities and in delivering a prosperous, thriving future for the region.”
Anglian Water’s plans for other investment in Suffolk include:
• £31.8 million to reduce the amount of phosphorous in treated water released to the Suffolk's rivers, including precious chalk streams
• £16.9 million to improve bathing water quality in the Deben Estuary by providing stormwater storage to reduce discharges from combined stormwater overflows in Woodbridge
• £10.3 million to construct a new water recycling centre at Tuddenham to cater for population growth