Investing in our sewer network

LOOKING AFTER THE ENVIRONMENT IS ONE OF OUR TOP PRIORITIES. 

As part of this commitment, and to help make Bishop Auckland a great place to live, work and visit, we are investing £6 million to improve the performance and flexibility of our sewer network and wastewater treatment works (WWTW) in the Butterknowle, Cockfield and Ramshaw areas.

We plan to begin this scheme in October 2017 and expect it will take up to a year to complete. This scheme will help to improve the water quality of the River Gaunless as well as the performance of our sewer network. Our partner, Interserve Construction Limited, will be carrying out this work on our behalf.

Over the coming months we will be carrying out investigative work and you may see our employees and representatives working for our partner out and about in your area. We may have to dig some holes and use temporary traffic lights at certain locations. If you are going to be directly affected by this, our site team will let you know in advance of the work starting.

We will share further information about our plans with you as soon as we have finalised our approach.

Work is likely to involve installing new pipes within our sewer network between Butterknowle, Cockfield and Ramshaw WWTW. Upgrades to the existing treatment works as well as the construction of new equipment at the three sites will also be carried out.

To make sure we choose the best solutions and to maximise the scheme benefits for you and your community, we really want to understand your views about this essential work and how we can minimise any disruption you and your community may experience.

We would like to invite you to attend one of three customer information drop-in sessions we will be holding between 4.30pm and 7.30pm on the following dates:

• Tuesday 6 December 2016 at Butterknowle Primary School
• Wednesday 7 December 2016 at Ramshaw  Primary School
• Thursday 8 December 2016 at Community Cafe (Lipscombe Hall)

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU

We invest hundreds of millions of pounds every year to maintain and upgrade our water and sewer networks so we can make sure we provide you with a top quality product and safeguard our water and environment well into the future. We recognise that, with construction work, noise and traffic disruption is difficult to avoid. Please be assured that we will do our best to reduce any inconvenience to you.

We want you to receive an outstanding service while we work in your community, and to help us deliver this, we have some guiding principles for our employees and partners:

• When our work directly affects you, we will seek your views during the planning stage
• We will work with the local community and other relevant stakeholders to minimise the impact of what we need to do
• When working next to your home or business, we will do our best to contact you before the work begins and update you on progress and about any changes that may occur
• If we need to work on your land or in your property, we will return your land and/or property back to the condition they were immediately before the work began. We will agree this with you before we begin
• We will always act in a professional, courteous and helpful manner, keep our promises and ensure that any issues are resolved within a reasonable and agreed timescale
• Your opinion is important to us. We will ask for feedback on the performance of our employees and partners, as well as the impact our work has had on you and your community
• We will make sure work is carried out safely and that our working areas are secure and tidy
• We will respond quickly to any enquiries and investigate any concerns you may have about our work without delay