Sharing expertise at Waterwise Conference 2022

Josie C-Thornewill, Sustainability Director at Thakeham, is a keynote speaker at this year’s Waterwise Conference.

The Annual Waterwise Conference has been the major national water efficiency event in the UK since 2007. This year’s conference theme is ‘Water efficiency and climate crisis: connecting science, policy and practice’.

Thakeham, Horsham District Council & Southern Water

Waterwise brings together leaders from the water industry, local authorities, charities, academics and the construction industry. A chance for voices from the water sector and outside to lead informative sessions focusing on what can done to deliver water efficiency.

On Thursday 24th March, Josie will join representatives of Horsham District Council and Southern Water to share our work on Water Neutrality.

Josie will highlight Thakeham’s journey to becoming experts in the Sussex North Water Resource Zone and our engagement with Anglian Water and the Waterwise Water Neutrality group. This work has enabled us to demonstrate how housebuilders can be part of the solution for both water companies and local authorities.

Insight – Achieving water neutrality

In January 2020, we launched our Sustainability Strategy with a commitment to:

Reduce the demand for potable water, by investigating rainwater harvesting at a development-scale as part of a system towards water neutrality.

This can be achieved by first looking to Reduce demand by installing water efficient fittings in our homes. Water efficiency through fittings alone has its limits, therefore exploring Reuse options is important to evolve from the simple water butt to smart community water storage. Finally, as a last resort, we would look to Offset remaining water demand through verified offset programmes in the local community. Following this hierarchy allows new residential development to support good management of local water resources.

In the two years since including water neutrality within our Sustainability Strategy, our solutions at each individual home and at a place level through our Zero Carbon Placemaking principles, provides solutions to delivering sustainable housing supply in the South-East.

At the beginning of this year, Josie C-Thornewill was appointed as the first Interim Head of Zero Carbon Placemaking and Nature at the Future Homes Hub, as a leader responsible for achieving water resilience. Through this work, we have engaged with Anglian Water and the Waterwise Water Neutrality group. Read more on Josie’s leading role here.

Founded in 2003, Thakeham are committed to delivering sustainable communities that enhance quality of life; built on the principles of NHS Healthy Towns. Our schemes are thoughtfully designed and considered to create vibrant, resilient, and sustainable places to live and work, with the health and well-being of communities at their heart. Part of the taskforce on the Future Homes Hub, our Zero Carbon infrastructure-led placemaking approach is widely accepted as being at the forefront of community creation in the UK.