Debate contribution: NI Water: Funding and Governance

Debate contribution by Mr Timothy Gaston on 29 April 2025.

MLA

Mr Timothy Gaston

Party at the time

Traditional Unionist Voice

Date

29 April 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

NI Water: Funding and Governance

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4922288

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the opportunity to share my concerns about how a limping Northern Ireland Water hurts economic growth and stifles investment across Northern Ireland. I will use my time to highlight two examples in my constituency that typify the problem that our economy faces due to an at-capacity Northern Ireland Water network across our country. The first example is the case of a small housing site on the Grange Road in Ballymena. Planning permission was granted in December 2020 for 10 much-needed dwellings in a highly sought-after area. The development cannot proceed, however, because of Northern Ireland Water's stubbornness and the utter failure of successive Executives to properly fund and reform our waste water infrastructure. The site sits directly opposite Spencestown treatment plant — indeed, a stone's throw across the river. The main combined sewer runs along the site boundary, yet Northern Ireland Water refuses connection, citing capacity issues. The infrastructure is there, but, it is claimed, it is overwhelmed. The site owner has commissioned an expensive Northern Ireland Water solutions engineer's report, which I have with me. The two options that are presented are wildly expensive, coming at a cost of £160,000 and £175,000. That is utterly unviable for a small site of 10 houses; indeed, it is a death sentence for the development. My constituent has spent over a year employing his own consultants and chasing every option possible. Nine of the 10 possible solutions outlined in the report were ruled out as not appropriate or simply not viable for the site. Only solution 10 remains:

"a private developer-produced waste water treatment works".

That would be built to an adoptable standard at no cost to the public purse. It is perfectly viable and ready to proceed at a fraction of the cost outlined in the report that, NI Water says, a connection will incur, but NI Water says no. Bureaucratic stubbornness reigns supreme in that organisation. Logic, reason and common sense are all set aside. Sites lie dormant as a result.

The second case that I want to highlight relates to a site in Connor, which was passed in February 2023. That development is for 24 houses in another highly sought-after area. The contractor has paid Northern Ireland Water the requested £10,000, plus £2,000 for VAT, non-refundable fee to redesign his drainage scheme. That was back in April 2024. Twelve months later, the contractor is still waiting. To put that in context, the work could have been carried out in a morning by one person in the private sector, but it has taken Northern Ireland Water 12 months and still there is no final product. The latest from Northern Ireland Water is that it is struggling to get a contractor to dig a hole in the road to survey the levels and that it will be July before it can provide the contractor — my constituent — with a price for the works to bring the tails to the site. Then, once that payment has been received by Northern Ireland Water, it will be a further three months before Northern Ireland Water will commit to bringing the tails to that site. To recap, it will take 16 months from the time that the £12,000 was paid to Northern Ireland Water to provide a design and a costing and 19 months to provide a design, a costing and bring the necessary infrastructure to the site. Planning permissions expire. Housing need grows. To Northern Ireland Water, I say this: get out of the way of progress when it comes to these sites, get out of the way of builders who are willing to invest in our country and get out of the way of ordinary people who want nothing more than a roof over their heads. Minister, it is your arm's-length body: it is time that you got a handle on what it does.

644 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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