Pennon Group has hosted its latest meeting with customers in Bournemouth to hear their views and discuss the company’s major investment in the area’s water treatment works.
The recent WaterShare+ session was the latest quarterly event staged across the Greater South West, designed to give customers more say in how the company and its water businesses – Bournemouth Water, South West Water and Bristol Water – are run.
Pennon’s unique WaterShare+ scheme offers its customers a stake in the business so they can share in the company’s performance. Close to 100,000 shares have been issued – around one in 14 customers – with ambitions to make that one in ten by 2030.
A number of senior executives, including Chief Executive Officer Susan Davy, were on hand in Bournemouth town centre to update customers on the company’s record investment plan over the coming years, which includes £200m on upgrades to Bournemouth Water’s largest water treatment works.
Susan Davy, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Bournemouth Water customers are set to receive the largest ever investment in their water infrastructure, but it is only right they have a say in their local water company, which is where WaterShare+ comes in.
“Customers are at the heart of everything that we do. We are rooted in our communities and close to the people we serve – and that’s important to us. I would like to thank everyone who came along for making it such a valued day.”
Before Pennon Group acquired Bournemouth Water in 2015, water resilience was de-prioritised under the previous ownership. However, with Pennon, around £3.2billion is set to be invested in its area’s water infrastructure over the coming years, including upgrading water treatment works at Alderney and Knapp Mill near Chiristchurch with state-of-the-art technology.
Customers at the WaterShare+ meeting were also able to put questions to company executives, meet teams from across the business to find out how they could reduce their bills and save water, and learn more about how the water network operates in the area.
