31/10/11
Defra has confirmed its intention to bring forward proposals to reform the legal regime governing the ability of water and sewerage companies to charge developers for infrastructure works.
Water UK has been closely involved with initiatives to encourage the review of this area of the law.
The existing legislation is very complex and has led to many disputes with developers as to the proper calculation of charges for water and sewerage infrastructure.
Defra is expected to mention this strand of work in the Water White Paper and to include enabling powers in next year’s Water Bill.
While much work will be needed to assess what charging mechanism could replace the current system, it is encouraging that Defra accepts the need to tackle this long-standing area of concern for the industry.
