Almost 20,000 new homes unlocked after breakthrough by government Water Delivery Taskforce

Families will benefit from more than 18,000 new homes following a landmark breakthrough between the government and Anglian Water -the latest victory in the government's drive to tear down the blockers and get Britain building. 

The government's Water Delivery Taskforce stepped in as Anglian Water previously objected to several large-scale developments due to concerns over wastewater treatment capacity. The Taskforce brought together local planning authorities, regulators and Anglian Water to agree a path forward. 

Through the new approach, Anglian Water is working with developers and planning authorities at an earlier stage in the process to enable large scale developments of over 500 homes, allowing infrastructure upgrades to be funded and delivered in a phased way over multiple investment cycles.

The taskforce has opened up conversations around a potential new water recycling centre for Grantham  plus the existing construction of a strategic pipeline and 20-million-litre storage reservoir to allow for thousands more homes in the years ahead.  

This is key for the East of England, one of the driest regions in the country but with one of the fastest growing populations and highest potential for growth, and follows previous Taskforce success in North Sussex, where around 21,000 homes have already been unlocked through collaborative work to resolve a four-year pause on development. 

These successes for the Water Delivery Taskforce show how strong collaboration and partnership between government, industry and local communities is accelerating the UK's infrastructure revolution and delivering the housing the country needs.  

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: 

This is another success story for the government's Water Delivery Taskforce, which has already unblocked over 55,000 homes with solutions driven by pragmatic thinking and long-term strategy.  

We are unlocking growth and getting Britain building while protecting our precious water supplies. Under this government's reforms, we are securing a brighter future with new homes and new jobs across the country.

Mark Thurston, Chief Executive Officer at Anglian Water said:  

Given the concentration and scale of growth in the East of England, we are at the forefront of many major infrastructure projects, including two new reservoirs, our Strategic Interconnecting Pipeline, hundreds of miles of modern pipes, water recycling infrastructure and nature-based solutions, such as wetlands.  

We are working with regulators to chart the path between environmental compliance and supporting growth, and through our work with Defra's Water Delivery Taskforce, Anglian Water is working with developers and local planning authorities at an earlier stage in the process to enable large scale developments of over 500 homes. This is an encouraging step forward in enabling us to deliver infrastructure upgrades over multiple investment cycles.

Earlier this year, the government also announced over 130,000 new homes will be built faster thanks to the New Homes Accelerator, established in 2024 to get spades in the ground more quickly by providing local areas with additional planning capacity and removing regulatory hurdles. The government is also driving forward action to secure long-term water resilience, clean up waterways and modernise the water sector through a once-in-a-generation programme of reform.  

Having already reversed anti-supply measures in the National Planning Policy Framework, the government's planning overhaul is beginning to bear fruit, with a 15% increase in new housing starts compared to last year. This is on top of the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act and further proposed changes to the Framework the biggest rewrite of planning rules in over a decade.

Notes to editors: 

The developments closer to being built are:  

• Spitalgate Heath, Grantham, Lincolnshire: 3,400 homes, 300,000 sq ft of employment space, and 86,000 sq ft for the local centre. 
• Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community: 7,750 homes and 25 hectares of employment space. 
• Beccles, East Suffolk: 721 dwellings, plus 5 hectares of employment land for a primary school, retirement community and community hub with retail space.  
• Baldock, Hertfordshire: 3,200 homes and 16 hectares of employment. 
• Dunton Hills, Essex. 3,700 homes. 

WATER DELIVERY TASKFORCE: 

• The Water Delivery Taskforce was established in April 2025 and brings together representatives from Defra and wider government, regulators, water companies and the wider water and planning sectors.  
• The Taskforce is working to hold water companies to account for delivery of the infrastructure upgrades that they have committed to.  
• Its work supports growth by convening key parties to solve water-related barriers to development, whilst ensuring environmental standards are met.  

WATER RESOURCES:    

• We face a growing water shortage over the next decade and are pushing ahead with urgent reforms under our Plan for Change, including nine new reservoirs to help secure supplies. The last major reservoir built in England was Carsington Water in Derbyshire over 30 years ago.   
• This government is taking urgent steps, and water companies are developing plans for nine new reservoirs by 2050 in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Kent, East Sussex and the West Midlands.   
• We are progressing work on mandatory efficiency labelling, and we will respond soon to our consultation on improving water efficiency in new homes.    
• We are also supporting the rollout of ten million smart meters by 2030 to help households understand their water usage.