Soon-to-be-built homes to be hooked up to water/sewer grid thanks to funding package

Linking the new homes to the grid has been made possible by £19.5m of funding for NI Water.

Minister John O’Dowd said: “I am pleased to confirm that the investment will lead to some 2,300 new properties being able to connect to the water and sewerage infrastructure.

“This is good news for communities and businesses across counties Antrim, Derry and Tyrone.”

The areas involved are:

Belfast City Council: 1,200 properties via a £7m investment in Upper Falls Wastewater Treatment Works Stormwater Storage;

Derry City & Strabane District Council: 350 properties via a £2.1m investment in Faughan Crescent Pumping Station;

Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council – 500 properties via a £1m investment split betweenPark Manor Pumping Station and the Templepatrick phase of the Antrim Drainage Project;

Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council: 250 properties via a £7.4m investment in Mill Road combined sewer overflow;

And Mid Ulster District Council: 10 properties via a £2.8m investment in Cabragh Wastewater Treatment Works.

Alliance infrastructure spokesman Andy McMurray MLA said: “While any additional money for NI Water is to be welcomed, this latest cash injection is nowhere near enough to address the capital funding shortfall of £266m that NI Water is facing this year.

"It won’t rectify the vast majority of issues NI Water is facing, nor will it resolve the severe damage that our over-stretched water infrastructure is causing to the housing sector, economy and environment.”