Wessex Water has proposed record levels of investment and lower bills in its £1.4 billion business plan submitted to water industry regulator Ofwat today for the upcoming AMP7 2020-2025 investment period.

The plan follows the biggest ever consultation with customers, with more than 140,000 people providing feedback through surveys and independent focus groups giving their views on bills and services.

Managing director Andy Pymer said:

"While parts of the country struggled to cope with the effects of the Beast from the East in March and the prolonged dry weather this summer, our customers continued to have reliable, uninterrupted services, which was due to the millions of pounds invested over the years to protect water supplies.

"In our ambitious plan announced today, we've set out how we will continue to safeguard water and sewerage services for customers for many years to come. And by delivering things in a different way, through innovation, using state-of-the-art technology and working with others, we're able to make substantial investments while still reducing customer bills."

In its business plan, Wessex Water has committed to improving the health of more than 400 miles of rivers across the region, making further substantial cuts to the number of accidental pollutions and having a clear ambition to be a carbon neutral company.

It is also investing to allow for a growing population, ensuring its water and sewerage networks remain resilient during extreme weather events and reducing the amount of water that is abstracted from the environment.

Highlights in Wessex Water's investment plan include:

• Cutting leakage by a further 15%
• Making 47 beaches even cleaner
• Helping twice as many low-income households who are struggling to pay
• Improving more than 400 miles of river
• Improving resilience through 36 environmental partnerships

Wessex Water said its mission is to be in the top 20 of all UK service businesses and a leader on environmental performance, adding it would benchmark itself not just against other water companies and utilities, but also against the UK's very best service companies.

Andy Pymer explained:

"While we have topped the water industry customer service league tables year on year, we realise customer expectation continues to grow, which is why we want to ensure we are one of the best retailers our customers deal with.

"Promoting competition and encouraging new ideas is really important too. So, if others can help us deliver a great service then we will make sure we work in partnership with them too."

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