Decision
Analysis
outcome: The outcome of the decision is to ask Cabinet to consider various measures to address water supply issues and ensure infrastructure resilience.
summary: The Canterbury City Council is requesting South East Water to provide detailed explanations on recent supply failures and to ensure future drinking water outages are eliminated.
topline: The Canterbury City Council has decided to request detailed explanations from South East Water to address recent supply failures and ensure future drinking water outages are eliminated.
reason_contentious: This issue is contentious as it involves concerns raised by residents regarding repeated failures in potable water supply.
affected_stakeholders: ["Canterbury City Council", "South East Water", "Residents"]
contentiousness_score: 7
political_party_relevance: There are no mentions or implications of political parties in the decision.
URL: https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=1747
Decision Maker: Council
Outcome:
Is Key Decision?: No
Is Callable In?: No
Purpose:
Content: To ask Cabinet to consider: 1. requesting that South East Water provide Canterbury City Council with a detailed and publicly available explanation, examining: the causes of recent supply failures; what permanent measures are still required to eliminate future drinking water outages to current homes; delivery timescales for those measures. how their supply plans ensure that tankering operations, are not becoming a substitute for long-term infrastructure resilience. 2. investigating and commissioning a report back to full council on: what planning, regulatory and legal mechanisms are available to Canterbury City Council and / or the Local Planning Authority if water infrastructure delivery is not keeping pace with housing growth; whether development phasing, or development pausing, could be considered where infrastructure is failing to reliably supply existing homes. 3. requesting that the Leader write to South East Water, OFWAT and The Drinking Water Inspectorate setting out the concerns raised by residents regarding repeated failures in potable water supply and seeking assurances that their interventions will help infrastructure delivery will keep pace with existing and future demand 4. requesting further of South East Water, confirmation that they will be publishing their anticipated Resource Position Statement, as expected by the Environment Agency’s current timetable, in Spring 2027. 5. including South East Water (or any subsequent water provider) as a consultee for all planning applications of ten or more dwellings (or any development with similar water supply demands) with immediate effect. 6. tasking officers to research and draft a policy to sit alongside the Local Plan which ensures no development will be undertaken without a clear, phased plan to ensure that local water supply capacity will be sufficient to accommodate the new builds without degrading service to existing residents.
Date of Decision: July 16, 2026