The board builds on the foundations laid by Ofwat鈥檚 Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC) project and responds to the growing national need for collaborative solutions to tackle water scarcity, infrastructure capacity聽challenges聽and climate鈥憆elated pressures.
The聽WSGB聽will聽bring聽together senior leaders from government, the housing sector, water industry, regulators, environmental bodies, academia and practitioners聽to聽provide strategic oversight and coordination to ensure that new homes are聽鈥榳ater smart鈥�, that they are聽resilient, water鈥慹fficient and supported by the right infrastructure聽and聽water management solutions聽that聽work for housing delivery, people and nature.
Speaking at the聽EWSC聽closing event this week,聽EWSC chair Jean Spencer聽said,聽鈥淒elivering the homes the country needs聽requires聽us to think differently about water: how we plan for it, how we use it, and how we build resilience into our communities.聽
鈥淭he Water Smart Growth Board brings together the right partners to tackle these challenges collectively. By aligning the housing and water sectors, we can ensure that new development is not only sustainable聽but also future-proofed for the pressures of climate change and population growth.鈥�
The WSGB聽will be聽linked to the Government鈥檚 Water Delivery Taskforce with a view to the creation,聽maintenance聽and oversight of聽a national roadmap聽for integrated water management in new housing developments. It will support policy development and implementation聽across water and housing that聽contributes聽towards,聽or removes barriers to,聽sustainable housing delivery. It will strengthen knowledge and skills聽among all stakeholders involved in building new homes, and will establishing a 'community of practice鈥櫬爐o share good practice and feedback on policy and implementation challenges and opportunities.
Rob Boughton, CEO of housebuilder Thakeham and co鈥慶hair of the Water Smart Growth Board, said: 鈥淒evelopers, government, and the water sector have a shared responsibility to deliver sustainable communities. The WSGB creates a forum for collaboration and practical delivery. By working together in areas like water efficiency,聽reuse聽and聽SuDS, we can unlock housing growth whilst protecting and improving our water resources.鈥�
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