Water infrastructure is too often overlooked, but it is becoming a critical issue for our community. When a new housing or commercial development is proposed, many understandably raise worries that local services, from bin collection to transport and education to healthcare, might struggle to expand at the same pace. That is a fair concern, and something that I know local planning authorities are aware of, with tools at their disposal to help alleviate this such as imposing certain Section 106 obligations or Community Infrastructure Levies on developers.
But it is right that we are honest about the constraints we face locally and the risks of moving ahead without the right foundations in place. At the same time, we must recognise that the Government is imposing ever higher housing targets on more rural areas such as ours while dramatically cutting them in larger towns and cities. Housing targets across our area alone have risen by +26% under this Government, while targets in London and Birmingham - where there is arguably greater demand and more developed infrastructure - were slashed by 11% and 31% respectively. At the very heart of the issue, there are serious doubts about whether the development we are being required to undertake can go ahead at the scale planned without the necessary water and sewage capacity in place.
There is growing evidence that our existing water infrastructure is already under strain both locally and nationwide, with sewer networks on course to near capacity, treatment works needing upgrades, and drainage systems vulnerable to increased pressure from new development. Without timely investment by water companies, even a far lower level of housing development would risk exacerbating flooding, sewage overflows, and pressure on water supply, raising serious questions about how far and how fast we can build without first strengthening these essential systems.
I understand the need for more housing. We should all want to ensure that young people growing up here, those looking to move out and start a family, or those who wish to move to work in our area are able to get on the housing ladder and have the opportunity to build stable futures. This means that we do need to build homes where it makes sense, but we also need to remove other barriers to homeownership. For example, I want to scrap Stamp Duty, a costly and outdated tax that makes buying a home harder and increasingly unaffordable. But of course this support wouldn’t help with the physical national challenge of not having the homes in the places where they are needed.
In our case, new development must come alongside investment in water infrastructure. That is why I’m pushing hard for those responsible to address the situation, not only to resolve water infrastructure issues for residents where they arise as they have recently for homeowners, businesses, and local schools, but also to ensure we’re well positioned into the future.
As South Kesteven District Council is responsible for planning and housing in much of our area, I recently helped bring together the council leadership and the CEO of Anglian Water to discuss this pressing issue. Following that meeting, while I am pleased that the council were also able to make their concerns heard, I am increasingly concerned that we simply do not have the basic utility infrastructure in place to support planned development.
This is not about being alarmist or anti-development, but about recognising a significant and often underappreciated constraint. Without the fundamentals like a reliable water supply and sewage services in place, new housing - even where sensible, supported by the community, and much needed - risks being delayed or delivered without the services residents need.
