Bristol's Avonmouth water recycling centre to expand

The expansion is expected to be complete by 2028

The £100m expansion of a large water recycling centre in Bristol will start early next year, it has been confirmed.

More storage and processing infrastructure will be built at the Avonmouth centre, which treats sewage and wastewater from across the Bristol, Bath and North Somerset areas.

Bristol City Council has given the go-ahead to the Wessex Water project, which will take five years to complete.

Wessex Water project manager Simon Osborne said he was "delighted".

The utility company will build tanks and biological reactors just off Kings Weston Lane to handle more sewage, which it says will help protect the environment and Severn Estuary.

The planning application was submitted in March 2023 after a five-year consultation.

The expansion is expected to be in operation by 2028, and is part of a £1.4 billion investment by Wessex Water between 2020 and 2025 to improve water treatment, sewerage and water recycling capability and pollution prevention throughout the region.

Mr Osborne said: "We're delighted that planning members have backed these detailed proposals to ensure the Avonmouth site keeps pace with the rapidly-evolving communities it serves.

"Bristol and areas around it are projected to grow substantially further over the coming decades and this expansion will help our services keep pace with the inevitable increase in demand as a result, while living up to the city's vision of good social and environmental outcomes helping to drive sustainable economic growth."

Mr Osborne added that a larger site will help maintain high standards when water is released back into the Severn Estuary.

Wessex Water says having increased treatment capacity will also play a role in reducing the automatic operation of storm overflows when rapidly-increasing flows caused by sudden heavy storms can overwhelm the sewer system.

In the Bristol area Wessex Water has invested more than £70 million in new sewerage infrastructure in recent years to allow for population growth, which has involved the construction of 11.5km of new sewerage tunnels.

In April the company was criticised for paying bonuses to four of its bosses despite issues with sewage being released into waterways.