United Utilities spruces up school garden while upgrading sewers in Preston

Water company volunteers visited a Preston primary school over the summer to give its garden a facelift while they were in the town upgrading the sewer network in Cottam.

Engineers from United Utilities, and its construction partner, Bethells, took time out of their weekend to create a better outdoor space for children attending Lea Endowed Primary School.

Work included replacing old wooden flower beds, tidying the pond area by weeding and clearing walkways, repairing and painting the fence and creating a new seating area for nature lessons.

United Utilities is in the area to upgrade 4km of sewers in Cottam, Preston, including Hoyles Lane.

Third Party Coordinator at United Utilities, Lesley Miller, commented: “We understand that this type of construction work can be disruptive to communities.

“Obviously while we are in the area we are doing everything we can to keep noise and disruption to a minimum but we also wanted to make a positive impact on the community while we were here.

“We thought that sprucing up the local primary school’s garden was a good way of achieving that.”

Catherine Seagrave, Headteacher at Lea Endowed Primary School, added: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to United Utilities and Bethells for the amazing improvements they’ve made to our school grounds.

“Together they have made such a transformation, particularly with the planters, paths, pond and forest school areas. We are truly grateful.”

The Cottam sewer improvement project, which is expected to be completed in summer 2025, is creating a more resilient sewer network which can deal with increased demand and prevent flooding to properties on Hoyles Lane during periods of heavy rainfall.