Sewage works expansion to support town's growing population gets green light

Applicants Severn Trent Water Limited says the 564 square metre expansion to the works will improve treatment quality at the plant and reduce the levels of phosphorus discharged into the River Tern.

Town councillors in Market Drayton had previously expressed concern over the capacity of the town’s sewage infrastructure, after approval was granted for developments totalling around 350 new homes near Greenfields sports grounds in 2021.

A planning statement supplied with the application says the work forms part of a five-year capital investment programme by the firm, which it says is in response to 'a number of key challenges' including population growth and strict new environmental regulations.

"Investment during this period seeks to build the resilience of water supply, reduce leakage and pollution incidents. There will also be investment in treatment works and plans to protect the environment," the statement said.

"The proposed works are required to upgrade Market Drayton Sewage Treatment Works (STW) to ensure that the sewage treatment works will deliver the quality objective of compliance with a new discharge permit limit for phosphate… and also provide sufficient treatment capacity to deal with growth in the catchment.

"This application seeks full planning permission for an extension to the southern boundary of Market Drayton STW and the change of use of this new area of land to 'operational land' for sewage treatment purposes to accommodate a new Tertiary Solids Removal (TSR) Plant and associated infrastructure.

"The construction of the site extension to house the new sewage treatment infrastructure will enable the STW to meet the consent and improve the discharge quality as well as accommodate for catchment growth."

The scheme will see the site’s southern boundary fence dismantled with new treatment infrastructure installed on a patch of land to the south of the existing plant, with replacement fencing erected along the new boundary.

As well as the works in the proposal, the firm says it will be adding additional treatment facilities within the existing footprint of the site to help the plant maintain its Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) rating of 4 stars, which is the highest available.

Technical data supplied with the scheme says the plant currently serves a population equivalent of 19,982, expected to grow by up to 25 per cent by 2033.