Our Business Plan summary 2025–30
Highlights from our ambitious plan
Great quality water every time you turn on the tap
Improving water quality for 1.4 million customers
Safeguarding water supplies for over 2 million customers
Investing £975 million in a programme to build a more resilient network, fixing leaks and replacing 950 kilometres of old pipes and mains
Improving resilience so we can halve the chance of having a hosepipe ban in the future
Our largest ever environmental investment programme
Improving the quality of our rivers by reducing storm overflow spills by 60% over the decade to 2030
Protecting and enhancing over 500 kilometres of rivers and improving our bathing waters and shellfish beds
Strengthening our network against increased rainfall to reduce flooding of homes and businesses
Working with local authorities to separate rainwater from our systems so we build more resilient communities as we all respond to the impacts of climate change such as flooding
Doubling our financial support for those who need it . . . making sure nobody gets left behind
Providing £525 million of affordability support for one in six customers who may be struggling to pay their bill
Installing 900,000 smart meters to help homes and businesses use less water and save money
Driving benefits for the North West's economy
Providing great quality skilled jobs, attracting much-needed and sustainable investment into the North West economy – we expect our plan would support 30,000 jobs across United Utilities and our supply chain
Louise Beardmore
Chief Executive
Louise Beardmore
Chief Executive
Highlights from our ambitious plan
The fantastic region we serve
The North West has a thriving culture built on a world-renowned legacy across food, literature, sport, music and entertainment.
Our region is diverse and has been shaped by multicultural communities. It’s the birthplace of Kendal Mint Cake and scouse, classic literature like Peter Rabbit and Alice in Wonderland. It boasts numerous world-renowned sports teams. It’s the region that brought the world The Beatles, Oasis and Harry Styles as well as the bright colours of Manchester Pride and bright lights of Blackpool Tower Ballroom and Media City. It is underpinned by a rich diversity – home to Europe’s largest Chinese community and Britain’s oldest African community. The North West is somewhere we are proud to call home.
Over 7 million people and 200,000 businesses – by 2050 we’ll serve around 1 million more
The fourth smallest region by size, with the third largest population and home to 25% of England’s dairy herds
Our communities are diverse and have different levels of prosperity and needs
Levelling up is a priority, and devolution is advanced with 2 city regions
12% of households are affected by water poverty, more than 50% higher than the national average
40% more urban rainfall than the industry average
New environmental requirements are driving unprecedented long-term investment
Over 90% of drinking water comes from surface water sources
A legacy of industrial heritage and heavy manufacturing based on Victorian infrastructure
A growing economy which contributes 10% of national GDP
Over 7 million people and 200,000 businesses – by 2050 we’ll serve around 1 million more
The fourth smallest region by size, with the third largest population and home to 25% of England’s dairy herds
Our communities are diverse and have different levels of prosperity and needs
Levelling up is a priority, and devolution is advanced with 2 city regions
12% of households are affected by water poverty, more than 50% higher than the national average
40% more urban rainfall than the industry average
New environmental requirements are driving unprecedented long-term investment
Over 90% of drinking water comes from surface water sources
A legacy of industrial heritage and heavy manufacturing based on Victorian infrastructure
A growing economy which contributes 10% of national GDP
Our region
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
Helping people with their bills - doubling our support to
£525m
Investing in our region, enabling growth by upgrading
950km
of water mains
13%
reduction in interruptions to your water supply
590,000
customers helped by our financial support schemes
22m
additional litres of water to ensure a reliable supply of water
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
50%
reduction in the likelihood
of a hosepipe ban
Creating
7,000
new high quality skilled jobs
Reducing leakage by
13%
Helping homes and businesses save
9m
litres of water
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
Investing
£3.1bn
to reduce spills from over 400 overflows
Investing around
£660m
to improve bathing and shellfish waters
Improving
11,500
hectares of SSSI to enhance biodiversity and water quality
Protecting and enhancing over
500km
of rivers, spending over £900m to reduce nutrients
25%
reduction in the number of pollution incidents
Spending £196m to reduce carbon emissions by
43%
(against 2020 baseline)
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
Delivering a
32%
reduction in sewer flooding in homes and businesses
26%
reduction in water quality contacts
Enhancing safety at
25
reservoirs for people to enjoy their visit
Replacing lead pipes at
30,000
homes
Upgrading
65km
of the Vyrnwy Aqueduct, improving water quality for over 500,000 people
Improving bathing waters
for recreation
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
Helping people with
their bills - doubling
our support to
£525m
590,000
customers helped by
our financial support schemes
Investing in our region,
enabling growth
by upgrading
950km
of water mains
13%
reduction in interruptions
to your water supply
22m
additional litres of water to
ensure a reliable supply of water
Reducing leakage by
13%
50%
reduction in the likelihood
of a hosepipe ban
Creating
7,000
new high quality
skilled jobs
Helping homes and
businesses save
9m
litres of water
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
Investing
£3.1bn
to reduce spills
from over 400
overflows
Protecting and
enhancing over
500km
of rivers, spending
over £900m to
reduce nutrients
Investing around
£660m
to improve bathing and
shellfish waters
Improving
11,500
hectares of SSSI to enhance
biodiversity and water quality
25%
reduction in the
number of pollution
incidents
Spending £196m to reduce
carbon emissions by
43%
(against 2020 baseline)
How our plan provides a stronger, greener and healthier North West
Delivering a
32%
reduction in sewer flooding
in homes and businesses
Replacing lead pipes at
30,000
homes
26%
reduction in water
quality contacts
Enhancing safety at
25
reservoirs for people
to enjoy their visit
Upgrading
65km
of the Vyrnwy Aqueduct,
improving water quality
for over 500,000 people
Improving bathing waters
for recreation
We’ve been working with stakeholders and customers to develop our understanding of unique needs across the North West’s five counties. This means we can develop plans that are more relatable to the communities we serve.
Here you can download a summary of our plan for the entire North West region as well as summaries for each of the five counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
Regional summary
Our full business plan
Read more about our plan in the below documents.