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Northumbrian Water Home

Project Update & Customer Poll 14/04/2026

From "Westerton Reservoir Abandonment & Pumping Station"

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Hi everyone,

As we enter the final phase of the Westerton Reservoir Abandonment Project, we feel this is the ideal time to share the ideas put forward by residents during our customer engagement event on 30 January 2026 at the Park Head Hotel. These ideas relate to the final reinstatement of the Village Green.

Firstly, thank you for attendance and for the valuable feedback you provided. Your comments have helped shape not only this project, but also how we plan and deliver future work. During the event, we invited suggestions on how we might give something back to the community in recognition of your patience throughout the works.

We are now keen to understand which ideas the majority of residents would be most happy with. This will allow us to begin discussions with Durham County Council, as custodians of the land, and ensure all agreed improvements can be implemented before we withdraw from site.

The two main suggestions were:

  1. Plant pots and planting, supplied by NWL and positioned in locations agreed by residents. The NWL project team colleagues will be happy to support the planting on a voluntary basis.
  2. A bench or seating area for community use.

Additionally, we would be happy to provide both seating, Plants and Potts as a legacy gift to the Village.

You can take part in the poll by clicking HERE.

Alternatively, we will be sending a text message to all customers with a link to the survey so you can vote for your preferred option. Once a final decision has been reached, we will work with Durham County Council to finalise and complete the chosen option.

Separately, we will be resurfacing the two private roads on either side of the Village Green to ensure a smooth and durable finish for residents.

Thank you again for your continued patience and involvement. We look forward to receiving your feedback and completing this final phase together.

The Project Team

Comments(3)

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Profile of Megan Pye
Posted by:Megan Pye
4 weeks ago
I appreciate that the water board are looking to leave something positive for the village after the recent works, and it’s good that residents are being asked for feedback. However, I’m a little concerned that the poll only offers options for benches and/or plant pots. There doesn’t appear to be an option for what many residents have previously suggested — simply backfilling and restoring the village green to its original state. In a recent informal poll among residents, the majority indicated that this would actually be their preferred outcome. Without that option included here, the poll unintentionally creates a bias where people are effectively forced to choose between options that may not represent their preference, or not vote at all. That could mean the final result reflects a minority view rather than the majority. I also still have some practical concerns about the proposed benches or plant pots. It’s not clear where they could realistically be positioned without either blocking access to existing water board assets or being placed on the grassed areas. If they are placed on the grass, experience elsewhere in the village suggests the council may not move them for mowing, which often leads to weed killer being sprayed around them for convenience. Over time that tends to cause bare patches and soil erosion. It’s also worth noting that while the installation may be provided initially, the ongoing maintenance of any pots or seating will inevitably fall to the residents in the long term. My intention isn’t to dismiss the idea of a legacy gift, but simply to make sure residents are given the full range of options so the outcome genuinely reflects what the village would prefer — including the option of restoring the green itself.
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Profile of Community Hub Admin Team
Posted by:Community Hub Admin Team
4 weeks ago
@Megan Pye Hi Megan, Thank you for taking the time to share feedback. We’ve shared your comments with the Project Team and are currently looking into this, we’ll come back to you as soon as possible with an update. Thank you again for engaging with us on this.
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Profile of Community Hub Admin Team
Posted by:Community Hub Admin Team
4 weeks ago
@Megan Pye Thank you for taking the time to share your views; we appreciate the points you have raised. We would like to clarify that our primary commitment is to fully backfill, reinstate, and landscape the village green, restoring it to its original condition once the works are completed. This remains our default position and will be delivered in full. I would also like to offer reassurance that the intention behind consulting residents on potential legacy options was simply to understand their views on the possibility of additional enhancements, as a thank you to the community for their patience during the works. Feedback received at the customer event indicated interest in ideas such as planting or seating, which is why these options were included for consideration. However, we fully recognise that for some residents, the preferred outcome is the straightforward restoration of the green to its original state. This option should have been more clearly available and represented. We acknowledge your concern that the poll wording did not sufficiently reflect this, and we agree that residents should be able to express a clear preference for no legacy items if that is the majority view. You also raised practical considerations regarding the positioning and longer-term implications of any seating or plant pots. To clarify, no legacy items would be installed without agreement on suitable locations, which would need to be discussed and finalised with Durham County Council as the land custodians. NWL would not be able to take responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of any planting or seating, as these would be provided as a gift to the Westerton Community. We can also confirm that any proposals would not block access to NWL assets, restrict residents’ use of the space. Residents’ views are the key determining factor, and we will only proceed in line with the majority preference. This includes the option to complete reinstatement and landscaping only, allowing residents themselves to restore or enhance the green in line with their own preferences and future plans. To ensure these preferences are clearly and fairly captured, we are happy to reissue the survey to include a fourth option of no enhancements. This will allow residents to fully express their views and ensure the final outcome reflects the community’s choice. The survey will be reissued to all residents and will remain live until 27 April 2026 to allow everyone sufficient time to respond. Thank you again for sharing your perspective. Your feedback is valuable and helps us ensure the final outcome reflects what the community wants for the village green The Project Team
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Profile of Community Hub Admin Team Community Hub Admin Team on 14 April 2026

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