Water funding 'won't be solved by asking developers to pay'

In 2024 it was proposed that developers could be asked to pay to upgrade water treatment works as a way to tackle housebuilding delays

The "big gap" in funding for water infrastructure won't be solved by Stormont's proposals to ask housing developers to help pay for it, Northern Ireland Water has said.

Sara Venning, the public water company's chief executive, said it would benefit some housing projects but revenue-raising would be "fairly limited".

Funding pressures affecting the wastewater system have been blamed for holding up housebuilding and other infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland.

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said she was "exploring options for developer contributions", with a consultation due to be launched in March.

Plans for thousands of homes have been held up due to restrictions on new connections to the water system.

Ms Venning told the Northern Ireland Assembly's infrastructure committee that NI Water had "at least an £800m investment gap".

She said discussions would be held during the week with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) on the idea of "developer contributions".

But Ms Venning said the "opportunity to raise additional revenue is fairly limited".

"I do know for some developers, it may be helpful to be able to fund wastewater infrastructure ancillary to their site, but it is in the smaller order," she said.

"It is probably something along the lines of, it helps in the short term, but it isn't the long-term solution."

She added that she believed developer contributions would "help in some areas, but it won't solve the big gap".

NI Water Chief Executive Sara Venning faced questions from members of Stormont's infrastructure committee

Ultimately 'consumers will pay'

Ms Venning was responding to questions from Democratic Unionist Party assembly member Keith Buchanan.

He described the proposals for housing developer payments as a "consumer contribution".

"The developer isn't going to pay for that - it's going to fundamentally be the consumer," he added.

Kimmins, who was recently appointed as infrastructure minister in a Sinn Féin reshuffle, said wastewater problems had "no quick fix or easy solution".

She blamed the issues on "years of neglect as a result of British government austerity and underfunding".

"The need to modernise our ageing wastewater system is a top priority for me," she said earlier in February.

"There is no quick fix or easy solution, which is why innovative thinking and collaborative working are so important.

"That is why I am exploring options for developer contributions, and I have also tasked my officials to work at a strategic level with the Department for Communities and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to establish better ways of working together to increase housing provision."