Developer Services Charging Arrangement
Our Developer Services Charging Arrangement sets out charges for services provided when developing land and laying new water and sewerage infrastructure to support new development and growth.
Our charging arrangements are reviewed regularly to ensure that our reasonable costs are covered and technical requirements are being met.
For our frequently asked charges questions and answers please search below.
Charging arrangements 23/24
Our Developer Services Charging Arrangements sets out charges for services provided when developing land and laying new water and sewerage infrastructure to support new development and growth.
Our charging arrangements are reviewed regularly to ensure that our reasonable costs are covered and technical requirements are being met.
Please click here to use our Charges Calculator for 2023/24 charges.
For our frequently asked charges questions and answers please search below.
Board Assurance Statement
The South West Water Board of Directors publishes this Board Assurance Statement confirming that South West Water’s 2023/24 New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements are compliant with its legal obligations and consistent with Ofwat’s Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers) dated March 2020.
Statement of significant changes
Environmental Incentives 23/24
Save Water - Save Every Drop To make sure there’s enough water to go round, we need your help.
There are many ways you can join the thousands of people, pulling together across the South West, to protect our water. Every drop counts. Opportunities to save water are available on our website at - https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/services/save-water/#/
A reduced rate will apply to infrastructure charges for developments which meet the specified criteria.
Sustainable water infrastructure charge
Qualifying criteria - where you can demonstrate, using the building regulations calculator that properties are built with water efficient fittings and fixed appliances that mean water usage would not exceed the potential consumption of 110 litres per person, per day.
Discount offered
We are offering to reduce the water infrastructure charge by 75%. The discount is based upon our estimate of the proportion of our network infrastructure that could be avoided if all developments in the long term met 110 litres/person/day rather than the 125 litres/person/day currently expected in the relevant Building Regulations. This is available to all site developments which are significant enough to require network reinforcement, regardless of whether the applicant is a developer, Self Lay Providers or new appointee.
Additional notes
Applications for this scheme will need to be submitted at the same time as the application for the relevant service. Late or retrospective applications for the sustainable infrastructure charge cannot be accepted onto the scheme. Note that your site will be audited to verify the fixtures and fittings included in the application to ensure compliance.
Should we establish through audit that the fixtures and fittings do not comply with the accepted calculator or specifications, we will notify you and reserve the right to charge full infrastructure charges for the property which failed the audit and remaining plots on site which are not yet connected. Where a developer fails two audits we will liaise with the applicant and discuss their eligibility for future availability of this reduction.
To discuss this further please contact our Developer Services Team on 0800 083 1821.
Charging Arrangements 22/23
Our Developer Services Charging Arrangements sets out charges for services provided when developing land and laying new water and sewerage infrastructure to support new development and growth.
Our charging arrangements are reviewed regularly to ensure that our reasonable costs are covered and technical requirements are being met.
For our frequently asked charges questions and answers please search below.
Board Assurance Statement
The South West Water Board of Directors publishes this Board Assurance Statement confirming that South West Water’s 2022/23 New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements are compliant with its legal obligations and consistent with Ofwat’s Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers) dated March 2020.
Statement of significant changes
Charging arrangements 21/22
Our Developer Services Charging Arrangements sets out charges for services provided when developing land and laying new water and sewerage infrastructure to support new development and growth.
Our charging arrangements are reviewed regularly to ensure that our reasonable costs are covered and technical requirements are being met.
For our frequently asked charges questions and answers please search below.
Board Assurance Statement
The South West Water Board of Directors publishes this Board Assurance Statement confirming that South West Water’s 2021/22 New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements are compliant with its legal obligations and consistent with Ofwat’s Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers) dated March 2020.
Charging arrangements 20/21
New Charging rules for new water connections to water and wastewater network come into effect on the 1st April 2020. The new rules require water companies to change how they apportion income offsets and these are new charges for 20/21 and laid out in the New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements.
Board Assurance Statement
The South West Water Board of Directors publishes this Board Assurance Statement confirming that South West Water’s 2020/21 New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements are compliant with its legal obligations and consistent with Ofwat’s Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers) dated July 2019.
Charging arrangements 19/20
The Water Act 2014 brought in changes that required all water companies to modify the way they charged customers for Developer Services related activities. Consequently Ofwat’s Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers) first came into effect on 1 April 2018. The most recent version of these charging rules can be found here:
https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/18-12-20-Charging-Rules-for-New-Connection-Services.pdf
South West Water’s modified charges were first laid out in our New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements 2018/19.
To maintain transparency, we have derived our 2019/20 charges by applying November 2018 RPI of 3.19% to our 2018/19 charges. In response to stakeholder feedback we have also clarified and added further text in some areas of the Charging Arrangements. Further detail is provided in the change log at the front of the document.
This document is applicable to Self-Lay Providers (SLPs), New Appointees (NAVs), Developers/Builders and Water supply and/or Sewerage Licensees (Retailers) applying for new connections services on behalf of non-household customers.
Board Assurance Statement
The South West Water Board of Directors publishes this Board Assurance Statement confirming that South West Water's 2019/20 New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements are compliant with its legal obligations and consistent with Ofwat's Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers) dated 20 December 2018.
Charging arrangements 18/19
New charging rules for new connections to the water and wastewater network came into effect on 1 April 2018. The new rules require water companies to change how they have previously charged for new connections services and these new charges for 2018/19 are laid out in our New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements
This document is applicable to Self-Lay Providers (SLPs), New Appointees (NAVs) and Developers/Builders.
Following Ofwat’s Information notice IN 18/05 and its revised Wholesale Charging Rules, published in March 2018, we have made some changes to our Developer Services Charging Arrangements. We are required to include, within our Developer Services Charging Arrangements, the provision for Water Supply Licensees (retailers) to request new connection services. We have made this change to the Charging Arrangements and republished accordingly.
We have also made minor changes and clarifications to our Charging Arrangements following further engagement with, and feedback from customers and stakeholders. No new or amended charges have been introduced as part of these minor changes. The document below summarises these changes.
Board Assurance Statement
The South West Water Board of Directors publishes this Board Assurance Statement confirming that South West Water's 2018/19 New Connections and Developer Services Charging Arrangements are compliant with its legal obligations and consistent with Ofwat's Charging Rules for New Connections Services (English Undertakers)
IMPORTANT NEWS – OUR CHARGES CHANGED FROM 1 APRIL 2018
The Water Act 2014 brought in changes that mean that all water companies have been required to modify the way they charge customers for Developer Services related activities from April 2018.
Ofwat, the economic regulator, has published new rules that now mean that water companies will provide more fixed charges rather than bespoke prices on request. Ofwat’s rules follow the overarching principles of:
- Stability and predictability
- Transparency and customer-focused charging
- Fairness and affordability, and
- Environmental protection.
From 2017/18 the way that we charge for Developer Services related activities has changed and if you would like to know more further details can be found on the following links:
VAT on New Connections Charging Arrangements
This section is a summary description of the VAT liability of charges and is subject to changes in VAT legislation and rates of VAT. Where there is a change to the law relating to the VAT during the period of this document, the Company will apply the VAT in accordance with the law.
All charges in our Charging Arrangements document are shown exclusive of VAT. VAT, where applicable, will be charged at the appropriate rate.
The VAT rules regarding engineering and construction services are complicated. Broadly, the VAT position depends upon the type of work carried out and the nature of the property being connected.
The Company will charge VAT on its supplies based on HMRC VAT Notice 708 “buildings and construction” (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buildings-and-construction-vat-notice-708) and the details provided here.
Please note that we may need to request information from you to certify the status of the property being connected.
Your views on our 2023-24 Developer Services Charges
We are doing this as it is important to understand the views of our customers and stakeholders about the elements that they like and those that they would like to be changed or improved.
Whilst we maintain consultation with our customers throughout the year this engagement is intended to provide you with the opportunity to influence the changes that we will consider to our existing arrangements.
South West Water approach to customer engagement 2023-24 Developer Services charges