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Environmental Incentives Scheme

Our environmental incentives scheme aims to help you achieve a high standard of water efficiency performance and encourage the use of sustainable drainage systems.

You may be eligible for our environmental incentives scheme if your development meets the criteria as set out below and in our terms and conditions.

Criteria

The environmental incentive scheme is only applicable to schemes quoted on 2024/2025 charges or later, some supporting evidence will be required at the point of application and further evidence demonstrating compliance with the criteria must be provided after the property is complete and prior to being sold. Details can be found in the incentives and evidence required section below.

The incentives will be paid per qualifying plot, as defined in our terms and conditions, and will be paid to the developer.

All devices are to be sourced and fitted by the Developer/SLP.

We have introduced a tiered approach to our environmental incentives scheme.

  • You must achieve all of tier 1 to be eligible for tier 2*.
  • To be eligible for tier 3 you must have achieved all of tier 1, and the water re-use and at least one of the no surface water connection and or permeable surfaces from tier 2.

*Apartments – as individual apartments do not have their own roof it would not be possible for each apartment to achieve the tier 1 wastewater incentive (water butt, raised rain planter or rain garden), therefore we would not prevent apartments from progressing to tier 2 without the tier 1 wastewater.

*Houses – as individual houses each have their own roofs, they would be able to achieve the tier 1 wastewater incentive and therefore would need to achieve the tier 1 water and wastewater incentive to be able to progress to tier 2. For tier 1 wastewater, each house would need to have their own downpipe connected to a water butt, raised rain planter or rain garden.

  • Incentive 2025/2026 Incentive £
    To be eligible for the Environmental Incentives Scheme a water meter must be installed on the property, failure to do so will mean the plot is ineligible for any incentive.

    A leak check must be completed showing there is no leak at the premises to be eligible for the environmental incentives scheme.
    Tier 1

    Water

    Demonstrate that the premises are built with fittings not exceeding the maximum consumption rates set out in the table below. 

    Common Environmental Incentive 
    Water Fittings  Maximum consumption (equal to or less than the following values

    WC 

    ≤ 4 / 2.6 litres dual flush 

    Shower 

    ≤ 7 l/min 

    Bath 

    ≤ 170 litres

    Basin taps 

    ≤ 5 l/min 

    Sink taps 

    ≤ 6 l/min 

    Dishwasher 

    ≤ 1.0 l/place setting 

    Washing machine 

    ≤ 6 l/kilogram 

    £172

    Installation of a flow regulator which limits the flow to 14 litres per minute  

    (to be eligible for the flow regulator incentive you must have also achieved the water fittings incentive as set out above)  

    (flow regulator is to be sourced and fitted by the Developer/SLP/NAV) 

    £100

    Wastewater

    Installation of a water butt or raised rain planter with a capacity of at least 200 litres connected to the properties main roof drainage,

    or

    Rain garden the size of 2% - 4% of the properties main roof that drains to the rain garden.

    £20
    Tier 2

    Water re-use

    Installation of rainwater harvesting system with a capacity of at least 1,000 litres as the primary water source for all toilets, as a minimum, within the property

    or

    Installation of grey water re-use system with a capacity of at least 225 litres as the primary water source for all toilets, as a minimum, within the property

    £400

    No surface water connection – Where the property has no direct or indirect connection for surface water drainage to our sewers

    £288

    Permeable surfaces

    Installation of permeable surfaces to the properties driveway/parking areas

    £150
    Tier 3

    Water offsetting – We will carry out 6 audits of existing properties for each new build property that is applying for tier 3, and where we can, fix leaks, install water savings devices or install a water meter. The water savings from doing this should offset the demand from the new build property.

    Cost to the Developer £553 plus VAT

    Incentive paid £664

  • Incentive 2024/2025 Incentive £
    To be eligible for the Environmental Incentives Scheme a water meter must be installed on the property, failure to do so will mean the plot is ineligible for any incentive.

    A leak check must be completed showing there is no leak at the premises to be eligible for the environmental incentives scheme.
    Tier 1

    Water

    Property is built to a design consumption rate of 100 litres per person per day or less

    plus

    Installation of a flow regulator which limits the flow to 14 litres per minute

    (flow regulator is to be sourced and fitted by the Developer/SLP)

    £272

    Wastewater

    Installation of a water butt or raised rain planter with a capacity of at least 200 litres connected to the properties main roof drainage,

    or

    Rain garden the size of 2% - 4% of the properties main roof that drains to the rain garden.

    £20
    Tier 2

    Water re-use

    Installation of rainwater harvesting system with a capacity of at least 1,000 litres as the primary water source for all toilets, as a minimum, within the property

    or

    Installation of grey water re-use system with a capacity of at least 225 litres as the primary water source for all toilets, as a minimum, within the property

    £400

    No surface water connection – Where the property has no direct or indirect connection for surface water drainage to our sewers

    £288

    Permeable surfaces

    Installation of permeable surfaces to the properties driveway/parking areas

    £150
    Tier 3

    Water offsetting – We will carry out 6 audits of existing properties for each new build property that is applying for tier 3, and where we can, fix leaks, install water savings devices or install a water meter. The water savings from doing this should offset the demand from the new build property.

    Cost to the Developer £553 plus VAT

    Incentive paid £664

Applying for your incentives

    1. The person applying for the water services needs to indicate on the application form  that they wish to apply for the environmental incentives scheme, this is done by ticking the relevant box on the application form.

      By not ticking the box you are confirming you do not wish to apply for the environmental incentives scheme.

    2. The  Environmental Incentives Spreadsheet will also need to be submitted at the same time as the application for water services, detailing each plot you want to apply for the environmental incentives scheme and which tiers  you are applying for by selecting from the drop down lists.

    3. Supporting information, as detailed in the incentives and evidence required section below, must be submitted at the same time as the  application for water services and the environmental incentives spreadsheet.

    We will assess whether the development meets the criteria at the application stage. If the development qualifies for the environmental incentive scheme, we will provisionally confirm the incentive that each plot is eligible for by sending back the spreadsheet and our terms and conditions, alongside your quote.

    You will need to sign and return to us the terms and conditions.

    Please note: any incentives due will be paid at the prevailing year’s rate based on the date that the property is connected to the United Utilities network.

  • Incentive Criteria to be achieved Upfront evidence required Evidence required on Vyn
    Tier 1
    To be eligible for the Environmental Incentives Scheme a water meter must be installed on the property, failure to do so will mean the plot is ineligible for any incentive. Water meter installed at property No upfront evidence required Submit a clear photo of the meter in-situ showing the meter dials and serial number
    A leak check must be completed showing there is no leak at the premises to be eligible for the environmental incentives scheme. No leaks at the premise No upfront evidence required A leak check must be completed by providing a 30 second video of the meter, clearly showing no movement on the red meter dials. Movement on the meter indicates a leak in the property. Any leaks must be rectified before the Vyn is completed otherwise the property will be ineligible for any incentive payments.

    Water 

    For schemes quoted on 2025/2026 charges

    Demonstrate that the premises are built with fittings not exceeding the maximum consumption rates set out in the common environmental incentive table above

    		 Built with fixtures and fittings that achieve the maximum flow rates as set out in the common environmental incentive table above No upfront evidence Video showing flow rates of fixtures and fittings installed

    Water

    For schemes quoted on 2024/2025 charges

    Property is built to a design consumption rate of 100 litres per person per day or less

    		 Built with fixtures and fittings that achieve 100 litres per person per day or less based on the methodology set out in Appendix A of The Building Regulations 2010 Document G Submit completed WRC Water calculator. Guidance can be found here (we do not require upfront submission of specification sheets for fixtures and fittings) Video showing flow rates of fixtures and fittings installed

    Installation of a flow regulator which limits the flow to 14 litres per minute 

    (to be eligible for the flow regulator incentive you must have also achieved the relevant water fittings incentive as set out above)

    (flow regulator is to be sourced and fitted by the Developer/SLP/NAV)

    		 Installed before the meter is fitted Flow regulator - no upfront evidence required Photograph of flow regulator installed at the meter
    Wastewater

    Installation of a water butt or raised rain planter with a capacity of at least 200 litres connected to the properties main roof drainage,  or rain garden the size of 2% - 4% of the properties main roof that drains to the rain garden.    		 Minimum 200 litres capacity connected to the properties main roof drainage Specification sheet showing the water butt or raised planter has at least a 200 litre capacity. Photograph showing installation of the water butt, raised rain planter or rain garden
    The size needs to be  2% - 4% of the properties main roof that drains to the rain garden Rain garden – no upfront evidence
    Note: Houses need to achieve all of tier 1 (water and wastewater) to be eligible for tier 2. Flats and apartments need to achieve the tier 1 water incentive to progress to tier 2.
    Tier 2

    Water re-use

    Installation of rainwater harvesting as the primary water source for all toilets, as a minimum, within the property

    or

    Installation of grey water re-use system as the primary water source for all toilets, as a minimum, within the property

    		 Minimum 1,000 litres capacity per premise Specification of the system to be installed showing capacity of at least 1,000 litres per premise for rainwater harvesting, or 225 litres per premise for greywater reuse. Document this on the Vyn, no video or photograph needed, we will already be aware from the application you made
    Minimum 225 litres capacity per premise
    No surface water connection Where the property has no direct or indirect connection for surface water drainage to our sewers The surface water from the property must not directly or indirectly drain to the existing, adopted, United Utilities network Provide the surface water drainage layout plan Must be indicated on the Vyn, no video or photograph needed, we will already be aware from the application you made
    Permeable surfaces Installation of permeable surfaces to the properties driveway/parking areas Permeable surfaces with a prepared subbase on the full driveway/parking area for each premise Specification of the permeable surface to be installed Photograph showing the full surrounding area and a close up of the surfaces installed
    Note: achieve all of tier 1 and the water re-use and at least one of the no surface water connection and or permeable surfaces to be eligible for tier 3
    Tier 3
    Water offsetting – We will carry out 6 audits of existing properties for each new build property that is applying for tier 3, and where we can, fix leaks, install water savings devices or install a water meter. The water savings from doing this should offset the demand from the new build property. N/A N/A N/A

  • Carrying out your Vyn audit

    It is the Developers responsibility to complete a Vyn for each plot on the environmental incentive scheme.

    Before you can start using Vyn

    1. To ensure that all the Vyn’s for your site are visible to you in one location, we are asking that one central account is set up in Vyn and this one account can be used by your site teams to complete their submissions in the app. You will need to send us the email address you want to use to set up your companies United Utilities Vyn account by emailing us at waterefficiencyaudits@uuplc.co.uk
    2. We will then confirm back to you that we have registered the email address within the Vyn system so that you can set your account up.
    3. You will need to set up your Vyn account using your companies email address that you asked for us to create your Vyn account with
    4. Once set up, whoever will be using the app will need to download the Vyn SmartVideoNotes app
    5. You will also need to provide the log in details to anyone that will be using the Vyn app
    6. You should now be ready to use Vyn

    Please see here for help on setting up your Vyn account

    After you have completed the property and fitted the devices you applied for

    1. Whoever will be carrying out the Vyn video will need to log in to the app using the log in that you have created.
    2. No later than 5 working days before the plot is handed over to the new occupier you must submit a Vyn audit video for each plot, evidencing eligibility for each incentive. Please see the Vyn guidance video on how to carry out your audit.
    3. When completing the Vyn audit you will need to fill in the case reference number, site name and plot details.
    4. When you have completed the Vyn for the plot, you can press submit and the Vyn will be sent to us for review.
    5. We will review the Vyn along with the details that were submitted at the time you made your application.

    Please note: Only one Vyn can be submitted per plot, secondary submissions for the same plot on a development will not be accepted.

  • Once we have received your Vyn we will validate the audit along with the information you sent us at the application stage.

    Where we have validated the information provided and the property has achieved the criteria as applied for, we will issue the Developer with the relevant payment for the plot.

    Any payments due will be paid monthly by cheque, and will be paid at the prevailing years rate.

    Where the property has not achieved the criteria as applied for, we will write to you to let you know the reason why the plot has not passed.

    We will not pay any incentive payments for plots that have not achieved the criteria that was signed up to.

    Please note: Only one Vyn can be submitted per plot, secondary submissions for the same plot on a development will not be accepted.

  • We may audit the premises to verify compliance with the environmental incentives you applied for. Should we establish through audit that the premises does not comply with the incentives criteria, we will notify you of the reason why. No incentive payments will be made where a property fails an audit.

    Where a developer fails two audits in a 12 month period they will not be eligible to apply for the environmental incentives scheme on any future developments for a period of 6 months from the last failed audit.

Terms and conditions

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