Representatives from Yorkshire Water were joined by key stakeholders from the community of Withernsea and its surrounding area for a visit to Anglian Water’s Aero-Fac^® waste water treatment facility in Cambridgeshire. Representatives from Anglian Water and Gurney Environmental were on hand to talk about the operations of the treatment works over the last decade (built in 2008).

According to a recent article on the Yorkshire Water website (click here to read), the firm is about to submit an application for a similar treatment works near the east Yorkshire town and was keen to get feedback from customers before doing so.

The new £30m facility will replace the existing Withernsea Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW) which is located just to the south of the town and near the village of Hollym. The works is now just 40 metres from the cliff and needs to be relocated.

The facility in Cambridgeshire (Sutton St James) is managed and run by Anglian Water and over the last decade, has provided safe treatment for its customers in the area.

The Aero-Fac^® process is a fully biological, aerated treatment process which is low carbon, low energy and for the majority of time, is powered by wind.

The company was keen to showcase the technology in advance of submitting for planning permission to allay fears raised over the last two years regarding tanker movements, odours and noise from any potential new works near the village.

Yorkshire Water Communications Advisor John Bond, said: 

“We knew that Anglian Water had been using this technology for a number of years and were delighted when they agreed to collaborate with us and show us around one of their sites. When completed, the new site at Withernsea will be the largest of its kind in England and we were keen to show customers what they are likely to expect.”

Fred Dearing, Chairman of Hollym Parish Council added: 

"We said from the start of the consultation period that we were keen to visit a similar site and this has been an opportunity to learn more about the Aero-Fac^® technology and its performance, and we’ll continue to engage with Yorkshire Water throughout the rest of the planning process to ensure our views are heard and understood.”

According to Yorkshire Water, if planning permission is granted, then work is expected to start on the new treatment works in the Spring of 2020 and completed in the Summer of 2021.