Living With Water in Belfast Plan Review
Within 2 years of the Living With Water in Belfast Plan being published, NI Water advised the department of a £700m or 60% increase in the estimated costs of the upgrades needed to the sewerage networks and wastewater treatment works which has seen the overall Plan cost rise to over £2.1bn.
An Affordability Review carried out by the Department in response to this increase concluded that although the Belfast Plan is still needed, the original 12-year delivery timeframe is no longer viable. NI Water will have to take forward its projects, that are included in the Plan, as normal business through the Price Control process (PC21, PC28 etc), at a scale and pace achievable within available budgets, rather than through a structured programme.
It was always anticipated that additional funding would be required to deliver the Plan. In the New Decade New Approach agreement, Living With Water was identified as a beneficiary of increased funding, but this was not received.
The Minister remains committed to the Belfast Plan objectives to help protect against flooding, to enhance the environment and to grow the economy and will continue to make the case for additional funding to expedite their delivery.