Anglian Water bills expected to rise 15% by 2030

Anglian Water said the rises were needed for "vital" investments in the water network

People across large parts of the east of England could be paying up to 15% more for their water bills by the end of the decade.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, a spokesperson for Anglian Water said it expected its average combined bills for water and sewerage services to rise from about £1.36 per day (before inflation) to £1.57 by 2029/30.

It said the rise would be "one of the lowest in the UK", and said the increase would pay for "vital, multiple billions of pounds of investment" needed for the region.

The spokesperson also said Anglian Water's business plan included "our biggest ever package of customer support", which they said would help more than 300,000 customers.

Anglian Water has customers in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk, as well as Hartlepool.

In some of these areas, Anglian Water provides both water and sewerage services. In others, the company provides one service or the other.

The news comes following recent reports that water companies across England and Wales are requesting even higher bills than initially proposed in July.

A protest over Anglian Water's sewage spills was recently held in Lincoln

According to data from the water regulator Ofwat, water companies are seeking an average increase of 40%, which would raise the average annual bill to £615 by 2030, compared with the current average of £439.

Thames Water, the largest water company in the UK, is now looking for its bills to rise by 53%, costing an average of £667 a year by the end of the decade, according to Ofwat.

Meanwhile, Southern Water is looking to increase bills by 84%, to an average annual cost of £772.

Anglian Water recently pledged to invest in storm overflows after a dramatic rise in sewage spills into local rivers in 2023.

According to figures from the Environment Agency, the company was responsible for 31,623 spills during the year – a 97% increase on the 2022 figures.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.