A £35 MILLION project to enhance the site that treats sewage from the city of Bath and protect the environment in and around the River Avon has been officially unveiled.

Customers and invited guests toured the water recycling centre off Mead Lane at Saltford as Wessex Water marked the completion of the two-year expansion. The scheme, designed and delivered by sister company YTL Construction UK, will meet the extra demands expected from a growing future population of more than 100,000 customers.

Wessex Water’s has invested £45 million to improve its services in and around Saltford following the completion of a new £9 million access road and bridge across the river to the site from the A431 in 2024. A further £1 million enhancement of storm storage off the A4 in Saltford was completed last year.

Wessex Water chief executive Ruth Jefferson said: “Saltford is one of the key sites in the north of our region and this site expansion helps us meet the needs of our growing local communities

“As a result of this two-year project, we will be able to increase our capacity to treat incoming sewage by around 40 percent - more than 800 litres per second.”

“But we’ve also been determined to recognise and reduce the impact of our operations on the community of Saltford itself, reducing the environmental impact of our operations and enhancing areas around our site.”

The century-old site is home to a new lagoon viewing area, while an ‘Ecological Wetland Scrape’ next to the bridge provides a habitat for amphibians, invertebrates, mammals and wetland birds.

YTL Construction UK chief executive John Thompson and Wessex Water chief executive Ruth Jefferson inspect the expansion at Saltford WRC.
YTL Construction UK chief executive John Thompson and Wessex Water chief executive Ruth Jefferson inspect the expansion at Saltford WRC. (YTL Construction UK)

YTL Construction UK chief executive John Thompson said: “It’s the culmination of many years of hard work by our team - that numbered up 80 at its peak - and has been a huge undertaking, with more than 300,000 tonnes of earth shifted to prepare the ground initially and around 11,000 tonnes of concrete poured across the expansion area.

“Our philosophy is about building better, smarter and right, and we’ve brought that to bear with this project.

“Around 5,000 trees and shrubs were planted and ground reinstated around the bridge and more than 3,000 trees, 250 metres of new hedgerow and 1.5 hectares of species-rich grassland will be planted or created from this autumn and the following spring.

“We’ve also played our part towards helping reduce the previous impact on the village of Saltford, contributing £20,000, around a fifth of the project cost, towards a B&NES scheme to resurface and repair the High Street in the village.”

Vice chair of Bath & North East Somerset Council, Cllr Dine Romero, said: “This expansion is very impressive.

“The council has recently joined a region-wide pledge to help the River Avon thrive, so it was great to learn how the additional capacity can also play a role in reducing storm overflow discharges.”

The Saltford centre will also play an increasingly prominent role in the company’s programme to remove more nutrients from wastewater within the Bristol Avon catchment, helping prevent algae from endangering wildlife within rivers and streams.