Anglian Water has announced plans to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds into water recycling and sewerage networks in Great Dunmow.

The company has earmarked more than £480,000 to be spent on upgrading current facilities in the town to ensure it will cope with the pressure of new developments.

This is part of Anglian Water’s £5billion investment for the region – “focussing on the areas that matter most to customers” – including protection from severe weather such as drought and flooding and tackling the impacts of climate change.

Spokesman for the company, Emma Staples, told the Broadcast: “In Great Dunmow we will be investing well in excess of £480,000 to develop the sewerage network and upgrade our water recycling facilities to support this growing part of Essex – this is in addition to the thousands of pounds we spend each year maintaining those services.

“As well as coping with the growth, we want to support our existing customers. If we did not have these plans in place it could be detrimental to the services.”

Without the improvements, which are expected to be finished by 2020, the area could become more prone to flooding and odours, the spokesman said.

Plans are still vague as to what the money will be spent on but it could involve extending the sewerage networks, adding additional capacity to water centres, a new pumping station and upgrading the current infrastructure to take away sewage.

Anglian Water will work alongside local councils to ensure upgrades are made in time with new developments.

“We have to work closely with council planners so we keep the same pace as the homes,” Ms Staples added. “It may not be what everybody wants to hear but for economic reasons we need to support the council in doing what they need to do.”