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water in Stoke-on-Trent
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Businesses across Stoke-on-Trent have been free to choose their water retailer since 2017, yet the bill usually still comes from the retailer that inherited the meter back then. We are an independent broker: we compare the retailers we work with, sort the switch, and check whether a Potteries bill is running high.
- Severn Trent still delivers your water
- Same pipes, same water, no disruption
- No obligation, we handle the paperwork
Compare business water suppliers now!
In Stoke-on-Trent the water supply belongs to Severn Trent, and that did not change when the market opened in 2017. What changed was the account on top of it: the retailer that bills you, reads the meter and holds the contract. You can change that, while the supply through the mains stays exactly as it is.
We are an independent broker for businesses across the six towns, from the ceramics and manufacturing works and the distribution sheds off the M6 to the hospitality in Hanley. We compare retailers against your real usage, handle the switch end to end, and read recent bills for the charges that quietly inflate a Stoke account, usually trade effluent and drainage.
- Severn Trent remains your wholesaler whoever you switch to, so it is the same supply through the same mains.
- Your retailer is the part you can change: billing, meter reads, account team and contract.
- Switching is paperwork, not pipework, and there is no break in supply while it happens.
- Stoke’s potbank conversions, distribution sheds and busy Hanley hospitality are where charges most often drift.
Why Stoke-on-Trent businesses overpay on water
Stoke-on-Trent built its name on pottery, and the Potteries still shape where the overcharging hides. Old potbanks and works have been carved into units, studios and trade premises, and a converted site like that rarely drains the way the billing assumes. Roofs and yards often run to a soakaway or an old culvert rather than the public sewer, yet the surface water drainage charge keeps being applied as though all of it reaches Severn Trent’s network.
The bigger one in Stoke is trade effluent. Ceramics, glaze lines and the city’s food and manufacturing sites all discharge process water, and once a trade effluent band is set it is rarely revisited, even when the real loading is lower. With proper figures the band can usually be reduced and the difference reclaimed.
A quick read of your last few bills usually tells us which of these is out of line. Where it is, a water audit puts it right and recovers what was overpaid, up to six years back.
Can a Stoke-on-Trent business switch water supplier?
Yes, and that right has applied to every non-household site in England since April 2017, from a potbank or warehouse to a takeaway in Longton. Severn Trent still owns and runs the supply; only the company billing you changes. We pull quotes from the retailers we work with against your postcode and usage so you compare real numbers.
| Retailer | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Castle Water | Multi-site ceramics and manufacturing groups | UK’s largest independent retailer |
| Water Plus | Mid-market Stoke firms | Severn Trent and United Utilities joint venture |
| Wave Utilities | Trade effluent on ceramics and food sites | Owned by Northumbrian Water Group |
| Everflow | Smaller Potteries businesses | Online-first, simple billing |
| Smarta Water | SMEs wanting clear invoices | Independent retailer |
| Yu Water | Sites bundling water with energy | Part of Yu Energy |
You do not have to pick a retailer blind, that is our job. Send the postcode and we will compare the market and switch.
How switching works in Stoke-on-Trent
It’s admin from start to finish, and your supply never stops.
Stoke-on-Trent sectors we help most
Some kinds of Stoke-on-Trent business turn up more than others, usually because their water profile is unusual enough that the default billing gets it wrong.
Areas of Stoke-on-Trent we cover
If you run a business anywhere across the six towns, you can switch, and we’re not tied to the city centre.
Across the Potteries: Hanley and the city centre, Burslem, Tunstall, Longton, Fenton and Stoke town, plus the business and industrial sites at Etruria Valley, Festival Park, Trentham Lakes and Lymedale.
Sectors we most often support: manufacturing, food production, hospitality, retail, education, healthcare and commercial property. Multi-site operators can pull everything onto one consolidated contract, and larger estates can run a full corporate tender.
Most of our Stoke work comes from the bigger water users: the ceramics and manufacturing sites across the six towns, the distribution and logistics units around Trentham Lakes and the M6, and the Hanley hospitality and retail trade. If your meter has not been reviewed in a year or two, a quick check usually pays off.
Stoke-on-Trent business water FAQs
Who supplies water to my Stoke-on-Trent business?
Severn Trent is the wholesaler for Stoke-on-Trent and the wider region, it owns the mains and treatment works and delivers the supply. Since 2017 a separate retailer handles your billing, meter reads and contract, and that’s the part you can change. Your wholesaler stays the same whoever you switch to.
When could Stoke-on-Trent businesses start switching?
Businesses across Stoke-on-Trent, like every non-household site in England, have been able to switch since 1 April 2017 when the market opened to competition. Scotland opened earlier, in 2008. Most firms across the six towns have never moved retailer, even though the right has been there for years.
Will my water supply be affected if I switch?
No. It is an administrative switch only. The same Severn Trent mains deliver the same water to your Stoke site at the same pressure, with no engineer visit and no interruption. Only the billing company changes.
Is Stoke-on-Trent different from Birmingham for business water?
Both sit in the Severn Trent region and both can switch retailer, so the mechanics are the same. The difference is the mix of premises: Stoke leans on ceramics, manufacturing and distribution sites where trade effluent and surface water drainage drift, while in Birmingham there is a far larger city-centre office and hospitality base. If you run sites in both, we can handle them together.
Can I claim money back on past bills?
Yes, where a charge was demonstrably wrong. The backdated window is six years. The usual Stoke-on-Trent grounds are surface water drainage that doesn’t reach the public sewer, an overstated return-to-sewer figure, or a trade effluent band set higher than your real loading.
Do ceramics and manufacturing sites in Stoke pay too much on water?
Frequently. Ceramics, glaze lines and food and manufacturing sites discharge a lot of process water, and the trade effluent band is often set once and left for years. Where it overstates what really reaches the sewer it can usually be cut, and the overpayment reclaimed up to six years back.
We run several sites across the Midlands. Can you bill them together?
Usually, yes. Stoke and most of the Midlands sit with Severn Trent, so one retailer can often cover multiple sites on a single contract and invoice. We handle multi-site businesses and consolidate the billing where it helps.
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Compare business water for your Stoke-on-Trent site
A few quick details is all we need to bring back a shortlist of quotes from the retailers we work with. No obligation, and we handle the switch.
