As you may be aware, we’ve had a number of leaks and bursts in the Haywards Heath in recent years.
We’re sorry this happened; it’s not acceptable. We’re always working to reduce the number of leaks and bursts we have. With this in mind, we’re going to be making some improvements to the water network in your community.
What's going to happen and when?
The planning for this project is underway and we’re currently aiming to start work on Monday, 27 July 2026. Our teams will work weekdays and some Saturday mornings with extended working hours on some sections.
We’ll be carrying out the work in different phases, as follows:
- We will be laying 568 metres of mains on New England Road, with the work taking place during the school summer holidays to minimise disruption. During this work, New England Road will be closed, with work continuing in High Trees, which will be closed after the summer holidays.
- At the same time, we will be working to install around 1.2 kilometres of pipeline along Farlington Avenue, and other local roads including Oathall Avenue and St Paul’s Close. Road closures will be in place on Oathall Avenue and Farlington Avenue during this time.
- After the school summer holidays, we will then lay 490 metres of water mains on Perrymount Road in Haywards Heath, with traffic lights in place and a road closure required at the north end of the road, due to the close proximity of the roundabout.
- A small section of work will also take place in Ormerod Court and Heath Road once we have completed work on other sections.
Diversion routes will be in place during the road closures and details of these will be published on this page.
We still need to finalise the programme, but expect the project to take approximately six months in total. We’ll do our best to get the work done faster if we can.
Public events
We will be holding a drop-in session to discuss our work with members of the public between 10am and 1pm on Tuesday, 30 June, 2026.
This will be held at the Mid Sussex District Scouts, Redwood Centre, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 3DN.
We will hold a further drop-in session at a later date ahead of the work in Perrymount Road, with the details to be confirmed in due course.
We’ll also hold a drop-in event to discuss the work in the area and we’ll send letters to customers ahead of the start of work in Perrymount Road.
We’re sorry for the disruption this work is going to cause; we know it’s inconvenient. We’ll do our absolute best to keep it to a minimum.
You will be able to get to and from your home or business during this work.
You may have to wait occasionally if we’re working directly outside the entrance to your property just while our team makes the area safe for you to get by.
The direction you enter from may not be your usual route or it may change as we move along the road.
We may need to turn your water off for a short time when we connect our new pipes to the existing network.
We’ll let you know if this is going to happen at least 48 hours beforehand, so you can plan ahead.
We’ll be using open cut and slip line methodology to lay pipes during this project.
We’ll be transferring around 200 customer services to the new mains.
If you’re likely to need any extra support during the work, you can join our Priority Services Register. We have all sorts of services to help you if you need it. For example, if you’re struggling financially, have an illness or disability or you’re looking after a child under five.
Find out more and sign up at southeastwater.co.uk/priorityservices.
If you have any questions or concerns before the work starts, please contact us:
- Call our advisors on 0333 000 0018 (Monday to Friday 8:00am to 5:30pm)
- Email via business.southeastwater.co.uk/contact-us
We’ll keep customers updated as the scheme progresses with regular updates and information on this page.
When the work is underway, the team on site will also be happy to help you.
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