Working together to support regional growth at United Utilities’ annual Developer Day
Working together to deliver regional growth was the key focus of United Utilities’ 15th annual Developer Day.
Hundreds of representatives from home builders, construction companies, trade bodies, industry associations, and regulators joined the North West water and wastewater company to highlight the importance of collaborating to harness opportunities and overcome shared challenges.
As well strengthening partnerships and making it easier for customers and stakeholders to work with United Utilities, the event also provided a forum to discuss the opportunities and shared challenges associated with growth, infrastructure delivery and delivering sustainable development across the North West.
Opening the event, Paul Stelfox, Head of Business and Developer Services at United Utilities, emphasised the key role that water and wastewater infrastructure can play in enabling well-planned growth.
Attendees, including representatives from Barratt Redrow, Bellway Homes, Taylor Wimpey, Wain Homes, Advanced Water Infrastructure Networks and Ofwat also heard from United Utilities’ specialists on industry, operational and regulatory developments, future investment priorities and plans to improve the experience for developers and customers.
Paul Stelfox said: "The North West has significant ambitions for growth and delivering those ambitions will depend on effective collaboration across the developer community, utility sector and public bodies.
"Developer Day provides an opportunity for honest conversations about the challenges we face, the opportunities ahead and how we can work together to achieve better outcomes for customers, communities and the environment.”
Throughout the event, delegates took part in discussions on supporting future growth, improving customer experiences, enhancing transparency and ensuring infrastructure planning keeps pace with development needs. Attendees were also encouraged to share feedback and identify practical ways of working together more effectively.
United Utilities is making major progress on the largest upgrade of water and wastewater infrastructure in the North West in a century, investing more than £13.5 billion to protect and enhance over 500km of rivers, lakes and bathing waters, while safeguarding drinking water supplies for millions of customers.
Developer Day forms part of the company’s commitment to working collaboratively with the development community and other stakeholders. It also raised £5,500 to support United Utilities’ charity of the year, Macmillan Cancer Support.