Severn Trent launches £30m developer fund for water efficient homes

Water company claims infrastructure charges discount scheme is first of its kind

Severn Trent has launched a £30m fund for “incentivised developers” to build more water efficient homes, to deliver “huge savings” to its developer customers. 

The infrastructure charges discount scheme will help Severn Trent’s developer customers save money by building homes which use 110 litres or less of water per person per day (pppd).

The company has claimed to be the “first in the market” to launch such a scheme, adding that housing developers could save up to 100 per cent on their water and sewerage infrastructure charges.  

Infrastructure charges are a one-off charge, charged by all water companies for first time connections. Each new connection, which adds a demand to the water and sewerage network will incur these costs.

Steve Betteridge, head of developer services at Severn Trent, said: “We’ve launched a new scheme to help our developers build water efficient homes by encouraging them to use certain fixtures and fittings, e.g. taps, baths, etc. which means that less water is used in the home.

“Anyone building a new home in the UK currently builds to a regulation standard of 125 litres of water pppd, however it is possible to build to 80 litres.  If our developers can show us that they have built to 110 litres or less of water pppd they could get a 100 per cent discount on the water infrastructure charge – meaning that they pay nothing.”

Developers can also qualify for either a 75 per cent or 100 per cent discount on the sewerage infrastructure charge by showing Severn Trent that a surface water connection is via a sustainable drainage system or that there is no surface water connection at all. 

“This is a key driver in reducing the risk of flooding in homes and streets caused by excess surface water,” Betteridge said.

Speaking to Utility Week, he added: “We’re seeing around 20,000-25,000 new supply points added each year in Severn Trent’s region with new housing developments.

“We want to be able to influence developers to behave differently to reduce household usage and waste, as well as reduce the impact of flooding.

“Other water companies have trialled similar schemes in areas of high drought, but we want to influence across the whole of our patch.

“It’s a nice message for developers as they can save money and help protect the environment at the same time.”

Betteridge said the scheme has started to see a good take up since it was introduced in April.

“Currently it is only in the quoting stage with developers but around 40 per cent of customers would be taking it up for wastewater,” he said. “For water supply its lower with about 10 per cent but it is increasing and gaining momentum.”

Nicci Russell, managing director of Waterwise, described the scheme as “ambitious and innovative”.

She said: “Everywhere in the UK will have drought in coming years – and these droughts will be longer and more intense. We all need to waste less water now – and we should not be building homes that waste water. I’m delighted to see Severn Trent Water’s groundbreaking scheme.”

Speaking at Utility Week’s Congress event in Birmingham last month, Liv Garfield, chief executive of Severn Trent, said: “We have launched a scheme, which we think will really drive forward an innovation programme to increase house numbers.

“We’ve put £30 million into a fund for incentivised developers to build water efficient homes. By giving them infrastructure charges free they will build homes that use less than 110 litres of water per person per day.”

Garfield explained the company wants to be “truly ambitious” on water resources. She announced Severn Trent has set itself a challenge to internally reduce its water usage by 50 per cent through the next decade.

“We believe big bold ambitions like that create fresh thinking,” she said.