More tenants are helping to build new Crawley council homes – and saving money and water!

The device regulates the flow of water and stabilises the water pressure, giving improved water efficiency that also results in water being heated more efficiently. The council has pioneered this strategy in response to Natural England’s decision in 2021 to change local planning requirements so that any future housing development must be built as water neutral.

The supply of water to the Sussex North Water Resource Zone was found to be causing environmental strain to a number of ‘Special Areas of Conservation’ and ‘Sites of Special Scientific Interest’ within Arun Valley. This is putting certain species of birds, snails and habitats at serious risk.

Thanks to council tenants, the retrofitting programme is making good progress and has provided sufficient water savings to unlock some important new developments in the borough with water neutrality having been achieved. The programme has so far unlocked almost 600 new affordable homes that will be constructed over the next few years.

More than 2,000 households are now benefitting from this device and are saving a combined 132,000 litres of water a day. With water prices expected to increase in the next year, now is a great time for council tenants to take advantage of a free installation.

Councillor Ian Irvine, Cabinet member for Housing, said: “This is a great milestone. Thank you to all the tenants who are helping us build new homes at a time when planning restrictions are making this very difficult.

“We’re still looking for more tenants to take advantage of reduced water and energy bills. So if Cenergist get in touch, please respond and help us build much-needed homes.”

The Cenergist Team is available for appointments Mondays to Thursdays from 9am to 7pm and Fridays from 9am to 5pm. Some Saturday appointments between 10am and 4pm are also available. Installation of the Control Flow device takes about 30 minutes.