Some water companies across England are trialling tiered billing systems which leave heavy water users facing higher prices for every drop – all in a bid to protect supplies from dwindling.
In the trials – which could become commonplace if regulator Ofwat approves a change to water bills – prices increase when consumption hits a new threshold, or “block”.
For example, a Severn Trent Water trial which began in February 2026 sees the first 5,000 litres of water per month charged at a lower-than-usual rate. The second 5,000 litres is priced close to the normal rate, while the third 5,000 litres costs more than usual.
The fastest home-selling hotspots in Britain revealed
Your house could sell up to seven times faster in some parts of the country, property site Zoopla has found.
It comes as around half of local authority areas record longer times to sell than a year earlier.
What you need to know
While the average time to sell remains at 42 days in the year to July, houses in some areas take significantly longer.
For example, properties in Melton in the East Midlands took 76 days on average to sell – a 21-day increase compared with July 2025.
Sitting in stark contrast is Falkirk in Scotland, where the average selling time is around seven times faster at just 11 days – one day less for the area than a year earlier.
Is your home in a selling hotspot?
Zoopla said 180 of the 363 local authorities it analysed had seen an increase in the average number of days taken to sell a property in the past year.
Here are the fastest-selling hotspots in July:
- Falkirk, with 11 days
- Renfrewshire, with 13 days
- Stirling, with 15 days
- Clackmannanshire, with 16 days
The Scottish lure
Many of the faster markets are in Scotland, according to Zoopla, due to the Scottish sales market working differently to the rest of Britain, and homes generally being relatively affordable.
Homes in Scotland are typically marketed as “offers over” a price, with homes having a valuation and home survey available, Zoopla added.
Locations with sluggish sales
It comes as house prices fall, according to figures published by Rightmove yesterday, with homeowners struggling to flog their bricks and mortar.
According to Zoopla, these are the slowest-selling local areas in July:
- Melton, with 76 days
- Westminister, with 63 days
- Teignbridge, with 63 days
- Torridge, with 61 days
- Isle of Wight, with 60 days
- Thanet, with 60 days
- Elmbridge, with 58 days
How AI can reveal invisible patterns in breast tumours
Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that can reveal patterns inside breast cancer tumours that were previously invisible.
Researchers believe the technology could help doctors predict how the disease might progress and pave the way for more personalised treatments.
What are these patterns?
- The patterns are caused by centrosomes – tiny structures that help divide DNA. Studying them has been “extremely challenging” because they are tiny and multiply regularly, which is what drives the disease.
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Distinct abnormalities discovered
The AI platform, known as CenSegNet, was developed to analyse hundreds of thousands of cells in tumour samples.
In doing so, it has uncovered two distinct abnormalities which had previously been thought to be the same process – one involved cells acquiring too many centrosomes while the other had abnormally enlarged centrosomes.
Defects behaving differently
Researchers found these defects behaved independently and could occupy different areas of a tumour.
The platform also helped discover that tumours with high levels of enlarged centrosomes were more aggressive, and patients whose cells had lower levels had a better chance of survival.
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The expert view
For more than a century, centrosome abnormalities have been recognised as a hallmark of , but studying them patient tissues has been extremely challenging. CenSegNet allows us to uncover that were impossible to see.
dr pauline swift, the charity chair of blood pressure uk
Eurostar rival finally gets go ahead – everything we know
Incoming Eurostar rival Virgin Trains has been granted track access for new services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam in 2030.
It marks a step closer to ending Eurostar’s monopoly. The trainline has operated without competition for nearly 32 years.
Approval lasts for 10 years
- The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has given approval for Sir Richard Branson’s company to run up to 20 daily services through the Channel Tunnel between October 2030 to December 2040.
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Virgin Trains in Eurostar stations
- In October, Virgin Trains was told it could share Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot in east London.
- Temple Mills is the only depot that can be accessed from High Speed 1 – the line that runs between London and the tunnel.
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‘Still more work to do’
This is an important next step in bringing competition and growth to the market for international rail services, and we welcome the progress and London St Pancras High Speed have made. While there is still more work to do, we are supporting and the wider industry to grow international services.
Martin Jones, Deputy director of access and international
What next?
Despite just clearing a major regulatory hurdle, Virgin Trains has yet to secure access to other rail networks.
It must also obtain safety approvals from the ORR and relevant regulators in the EU before services start in 2030.
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On average, an individual uses around 139 litres a day. At present, water bills are usually calculated by measuring usage or depending on the value of the property.
South West Water currently has a trial in which 500 households pay a cheaper rate for using a lower amount of water. Prices increase if usage goes up.
Similar schemes across Europe
Across Europe, this sort of water pricing scheme is more common.
Known as an increasing block tariff (IBT), the method was used in around half of countries, a 2016 study found.
Under the Metodo Tariffario Idrico, water users in Italy are subject to a variable quota where prices rise with usage thresholds. A similar method is widespread in Spain.
In Dunkirk, an “eco-social tariff” introduced in 2012 means prices under a threshold for “vital consumption” are lowered, subsidised by higher costs for those who use more water. The scheme has resulted in 80 per cent of users making savings on their bills, and average water consumption fell by almost a fifth.
Targeting a 15 per cent reduction in water use by 2035, authorities in Lyon, France, introduced a system where residents receive 12 cubic metres of water free each year – around 12,000 tonnes. Above that amount, prices increase with usage. The city of Montpellier has also implemented a similar tariff, resulting in a 3.5 per cent drop in water consumption.
In Cyprus, where per capita water consumption is around four times higher than the rest of Europe, the government has promised “punitive” charges for those who use too much. Golf courses using public water also pay higher rates.
Europe shares UK’s drought struggles
While 45 million people in the UK are living in drought conditions, the Continent is also running dry.
The Rhine, Loire, Danube and Po rivers are at record-low levels, and 38 per cent of the EU’s land is in drought.
The Danube is so low that sunken Nazi warships became visible and passengers were evacuated from a cruise ship after it ran aground.
Some 30 per cent of Europeans face water scarcity each year, and climate change is expected to make droughts more common and more severe. Cyprus, Malta and Greece are among the worst-affected countries.
Could water bills be used to fight drought in UK?
The UK has a target of reducing water use by a fifth per person by April 2038, and experts agree that bills could be used as incentives to help achieve that.
But tiered pricing is not without controversy.
A study from Belgium argued that poorer households did not consume less water in the first place and called for the schemes to be abolished in Brussels.
Andy White, the senior lead for social policy at the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Our water resources are under increasing pressure, so water companies are right to explore new tariff structures that could help manage demand while giving customers more control over their bills.
“However, any new approach must be fair and protect customers who are already struggling with rising water costs.”
The plans would also require much higher uptake of smart meters.
As of November 2025, just 12 per cent of homes in England had smart meters for water, with the government highlighting “substantial differences in roll-out rates across the country”. The target is for roughly half of homes to have a smart meter by 2030.
Mohammad Shamsudduha, professor of water crisis and risk reduction at UCL, said: “Any such system must distinguish between essential and excessive water use. Basic needs such as drinking, cooking and sanitation should remain affordable, while higher tariffs should target discretionary or excessive consumption.”
Water supplies in Europe are largely under public ownership, but England’s water companies are in private hands. Shamsudduha warned: “In England, progressive tariffs could still work, but strong regulation would be needed to ensure they reduce excessive water use and support long-term water security, rather than simply increasing revenues.”