Water customers unhappy at refit

SWW says the refurbished building will pay for itself in two years

Water customers in Devon and Cornwall are unhappy at plans to spend �1.5m refurbishing South West Water's (SWW) headquarters.

The company, which is part of the Pennon Group, has been based at Peninsula House in Exeter for more than 20 years.

It said modernising the building would make it more efficient.

But critics, including some SWW employees, believe the money should be used to keep customer bills down.

SWW customers have the highest charges in the UK.

Beaver study

"I don't think it's necessary and if they want to spend money on the building they can pay for it themselves," a resident of Water Lane in Exeter told BBC News.

SWW said the cost of the refit should be recouped within two years and would benefit customers in the long term.

Spokeswoman Monica Read said: "We're investing in the efficiencies we've made to date in order to be even more effective in the five years coming."

The news of the refurbishment followed SWW's controversial decision to pay for one of its employees to go to Germany to study beavers ahead of plans to re-introduce the animals to Devon and Cornwall.

The refurbishment is due to start in May and should be complete by the end of the year.

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