Turner & Townsend supports United Utilities’ critical programme to secure long-term water resilience across the North West
Turner & Townsend, the global professional services company, has been appointed as Independent Technical Adviser (ITA) for United Utilities’ Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), a major infrastructure scheme that will secure the future of water supplies for 2.5 million people across Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
This strategic appointment underscores Turner & Townsend’s continued growth in the North West and reflects its track record supporting major infrastructure programmes. HARP will see the replacement of six tunnel sections along the 110km Haweswater Aqueduct, a critical pipeline originally completed in the 1950s to transfer high-quality drinking water from the Lake District communities across the North West.
United Utilities is investing in this essential scheme to ensure the continued reliability and resilience of water supplies for generations to come.
As ITA, Turner & Townsend will provide assurance across programme, cost and technical certification, a role recognised by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) as essential in promoting customer protection. Turner & Towsend’s appointment will help ensure that delivery of the programme is underpinned by rigorous independent oversight, in line with industry best practice.
The contract will run for a period of 11 years, providing long-term continuity and assurance across the construction phase of the programme.
James Corrigan, Managing Director, Infrastructure, UK at Turner & Townsend, said:
“HARP is an ambitious and vital project that speaks to the heart of the North’s infrastructure needs.”
We are proud to be supporting United Utilities on this significant programme and contributing our expertise to safeguard a reliable, long-term water supply for millions of people.
"This appointment also reflects our commitment to building capability and delivering impact in the North, with our Manchester office playing a key role in leading our delivery.”
Neil Gillespie, United Utilities’ Transformation and Strategic Programmes Director added:
This is a key milestone in the HARP journey and credit to the many years of hard work from the team.
“United Utilities is the first water company to be delivering large scale investment through the Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model and we’re excited to be moving into the delivery phase of one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the North West.”
