Anglian Water is entering the final construction phase of a £16 million expansion of the Flag Fen Water Recycling Centre (WRC) in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, to boost wastewater and stormwater capacity for the city’s growing population. The work forms part of Anglian Water’s wider AMP8 investment programme and regional capital drive as of February 2026.
The upgrade includes four large new tanks — two stainless-steel stormwater tanks and two primary settlement tanks — along with new storm-tank cleaning systems, electrical upgrades, and improved telemetry and automatic control systems to speed recovery after heavy rainfall. Anglian Water and project partners say the works are designed to reduce the risk of untreated storm discharges into local watercourses during extreme-weather events and to meet regulatory WINEP flow requirements.
The extra capacity is intended specifically to enable development at Great Haddon, supporting about 4,000 new homes. Because the WRC sits adjacent to the Flag Fen Archaeology Park, the scheme includes a landscaped screening bund and planting to minimise the visual impact of the tanks.
In parallel with site-level upgrades, Anglian Water has said it will roll out AI-driven project assurance tools (for example, nPlan) across its AMP8 delivery portfolio to help accelerate and de-risk schemes. Technical reporting on the Flag Fen works notes that the combination of increased storage, upgraded cleaning systems and modern telemetry will make the site more resilient to future heavy-rain events and improve operational performance.
Local and industry reporting has framed the programme as an important step in preventing local flooding and protecting river water quality by reducing permitted storm discharges from the works.
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