Plans for new water treatment works in Aylesford

Designs for a state-of-the-art £39 million brand new water treatment works on the site of the old Aylesford Newsprint, Maidstone, have been revealed.

Plans for the new building have been submitted to Tonbridge and Malling County Council and local people are being invited to comment on the proposals.

If planning permission is approved, South East Water will start construction of the new treatment facility in Dry End Road, Maidstone later this year.

This project forms part of South East Water’s pledge to invest £433 million into its network between 2020 and 2025.

South East Water will make use of the new and existing boreholes, pipework and storage tank originally built by the newsprint company to aid its printing processes.

By upgrading and adding to the existing infrastructure, drinking water quality standards will be met while reducing construction costs and impact on the surrounding area.

Steve Ntifo, Project Manager, South East Water, said: “We’re really excited to be talking about our plans with the local community for the first time.

“We are proposing to build a state-of-the-art water treatment works to produce extra drinking water so we can keep up with the future growth of the community.”

If the plans are approved, it is anticipated building work will start later this year with the new site fully operational and pumping water to homes by March 2025.

Steve continued: “Once built, the new treatment works will enable us to produce an additional 18 million litres of water per day. That’s approximately seven Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water.

“Construction will take place within the old Aylesford Newsprint site and therefore we’re not anticipating much disruption to the local community.

“We really value the community’s thoughts and feedback so I would encourage everyone to view the plans.”

Customers can view the planning application via Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s website(opens in a new tab). The planning application reference is 23/00139/FL.