Business owners in and round Eye slam Essex and Suffolk Water’s potential nine-year water ban

Business owners have spoken of their outrage after being told they cannot expand their ventures due to being in a water shortage zone.

Essex and Suffolk Water has imposed a moratorium – a prohibition of new non-domestic supplies – across its Hartismere water resource zone, which includes Eye and a number of nearby villages.

The move means that businesses already using a certain amount of water cannot use more than they do currently, while no new mains water connections will be approved for companies wanting to set-up in the area.

Essex and Suffolk Water has said the moratorium would be in place until 2033, when it says a new water supply scheme would be operational.

But for people like Tim Norman, owner of Inspired Waterjet in Denham, that is not acceptable.

His business uses pressurised water jets to cut parts from material for various industries.

He said: “I found out about this a couple of weeks ago. We have had nothing from the water company about what we can and can’t do.

“We were looking to expand into larger units on the site, but our landlord’s plans to build those were rejected due to there not being enough water supply.

“That may pretty much end any chance of expansion here and we may have to look at moving if we want to grow.”

Other unhappy business owners include Henry and Barry Chevallier Guild, of Bruha Brewing, in Eye.

The brothers, who have run their brewery since 2017, have plans to double production.

Barry said: “We are unsure how this is going to affect us and our expansion and have set up a meeting with Essex and Suffolk Water.

“We need to find out where we are at, but if the intention is to fully apply this moratorium and if there is a cap on how much water we can use, then that is going to impact on how much we can grow.

“Are they trying to create a business dead zone in this part of Suffolk, as there is no incentive for businesses to come in and no incentive for them to stay? It beggars belief.”

Suffolk is classed as a serious water-stressed area by the Environment Agency and, although the groundwater taken by Essex and Suffolk Water is sustainable, the company say it has had to agree to reduce the maximum amount it can take each year to ensure there is enough water left for the environment.

The firm, which is responsible for providing clean water services, insists it is investing £1.5 billion across the two counties, with pipelines, a water reuse scheme and, longer term, a new winter storage reservoir.

Director Kieran Ingram said: “While we sympathise with affected businesses, we are forecasting business demand for water to double in our Hartismere area.

“We have to protect water supplies to existing customers, especially to household customers who we have an absolute legal requirement to supply.

“We did not take the decision to introduce the moratorium lightly. We understand how new business can boost the economy and we apologise to those who are affected, but the bottom line is that we have a duty to our existing customers to ensure their water supply is protected.”