Water companies should be statutory consultees on Local Plans

CPRE Sussex calls for central government to make water companies statutory consultees on Local Plans, given both high housing targets and worsening environmental conditions in Sussex.

The call comes after the government rejected the call in the Lord Committee’s drought report for water companies to be statutory consultees on all major planning works.

CPRE Sussex argues that water companies should be required to take part in public examinations of local plans and have their role and responsibilities openly scrutinised.

Sussex councils have seen a significant increase in housing allocations within their Local Plans, with thousands of new homes required to be delivered over the coming years at an unprecedented scale.

Housing and climate pressures in Sussex are becoming increasingly dire. This summer, the temperature and drought conditions are extreme.

CPRE Sussex Lead Planning Volunteer, Dr Roger Smith, said: “Central Government and planning authorities presume that no matter how large the housing target, safe drinking water will always be provided because water companies are required by regulation to supply water – and that in consequence there is no need for these companies to be represented and subject to scrutiny at the examination-in-public of local plans.

“With high temperatures and increasingly long periods of drought being forecast to be the norm, the presumption that potable water can always be provided is foolish and untenable. If demand were to exceed supply, water outages and rationing would become the norm, with devastating consequences for future generations.”

The Lords Committee has warned that England is at risk of ‘sleepwalking into serious water scarcity’ if the government does not take measures against drought threat.

Read more on the Lords report decision and the history of water companies as statutory consultees in planning, here.