Chance of water bill rebate resurfaces... in Billington Park

Andrew Lyman, of Gibson Drive, has lived on the Leighton estate for four years with his wife and two children. And after reading our recent story about a woman from Sandhills who had her water bill reduced from £40 to £2 a month he decided to look into where the surface water from his home goes.

Isabel Edgar Briancon had been paying a surface water drainage charge for the past six years, unaware that she did not need to pay it because the surface water drains into the man-made lake at Pratt’s Quarry.

Andrew looked at the plans for his house, which showed that all the surface water from his home drains into the pond behind Astral Park pavilion.

He said: “I think residents at Billington Park should look into the rebate from Anglian Water aswell.

“The surface water drains into the attenuation pond to the rear of Astral Park Pavilion, I believe the majority of residents on the estate are unaware of this and could be saving money on their bills.

“After speaking with friends on Sandhills who applied for a rebate from Anglian Water and reading the article, it got me wondering if our water drained into the pond, which is designed for collecting surface water.

“I looked at the plans and it shows that it did, I emailed Anglian Water and sent them the plans.

“I am waiting to hear back from them. I think they should be telling people if they are entitled to a rebate, not waiting for people to apply.”

Anglian Water say they have been reminding customers – through letters and their website – to contact them if they think they are entitled to a rebate.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Surface water drainage is a complicated network of pipes and has many different owners. In some areas Anglian Water is not responsible for any surface water pipes, but a surface water charge is applicable. This may be when surface water travels from homes through a council owned pipe and is then treated by Anglian Water.

“If a property is only connected to a soakaway, the owner is eligible for a surface water rebate on their water bill. If a property is built before 2000, the way to confirm it is connected to a soakway is by looking at the deeds to the property.

“Deeds are not accessible to Anglian Water and therefore we rely on our customers to contact us if they think they have a soakaway and are entitled to the rebate.

“Customers whose homes are not connected to the surface water drains are entitled to a reduction on their sewerage bill.

“Since a reduced charge for non-connected properties was introduced we have asked customers to let us know if their charge is incorrect. We’ve promoted this through customer letters and leaflets, our website and reminders on their bills, where we ask customers to contact us if they think they have a soakaway and are entitled to the rebate.”