Shropshire set to get lowest water bills in the country

The company, which supplies 4.3 million households across the region and parts of Wales, has agreed a settlement with regulator Ofwat that will see it cut bills, and pump money into maintaining its network.

Water bills will fall in real terms over the next five years and by 2020 will be around £60 below the industry average, the company said.

In 2016, a combined water and sewerage bill will fall to an average of £329, from £333.

Shareholders are set to lose out on the deal in the short term, as Severn Trent will cut its dividend by five per cent to 80.66p next year.

However, it pledged to grow its shareholder pay-out by no less than RPI inflation until March 2020. It will also begin a £100 million share buy-back programme.

Shares lifted almost two per cent as investors digested the new policy following its final determination agreement with Ofwat.

Chief executive Liv Garfield said: "At Severn Trent we always seek to strike the right balance between the service customers receive, the bills they pay, and returns to investors and we believe our plan for the next five years achieves that balance, delivering better services, better value and a healthier environment. The price review has been a challenging process but has led to a great outcome for customers. We were pleased that our business plan achieved a high approval rating of 88 per cent from customers.

"We know there is more we need to do to improve our processes and raise our standards, and I'm looking forward to working with the great people in Severn Trent and building on improvements made over the current regulatory period, as we continue to deliver for our customers and communities, shareholders and the environment."

The company supplies water to most of the county, and sewerage to all but the most northerly points, including Whitchurch. It has four sewage and water treatment works around Shrewsbury and Telford.