Ayrshire residents are set to be hit by a price rise for water services from April. 

Scottish Water has announced that average weekly household bills in Scotland will rise by around 70p, or £35.95 per year in 2024/25.

The increase – 8.8 per cent above current charges – will take effect from April 1. 

Around half of households in Scotland receive financial support with their charges as they automatically have either a discount, exemption or reduction applied to their water and waste water charges.

Scottish Water says that between 2010/11 and 2024/25, average charges to customers have reduced 10.3 per cent in real terms relative to inflation.

The company says that further significant increased investment is needed in the coming years to deal with rapidly increasing climate change impacts, population shift, and ageing infrastructure.

Water and waste water charges to licensed providers who supply businesses and other non-domestic customers will also increase by the same amount.

Alex Plant, Chief Executive of Scottish Water, said: “Our core services play a vital role in the daily lives of millions of people in Scotland.

"As a publicly owned body, we have a clear responsibility to ensure what people pay is affordable and set at a fair level for both current and future generations.

“The board’s decision on charges for 24/25 recognises the need for significant investment to protect services now and for the future as climate change means that more volatile weather conditions are becoming the norm rather than the exception.

“Whilst increases in bills are never welcome, and we acknowledge that cost-of-living pressures remain, this 70p a week on average increase will set us on a pathway to recover ground lost over the past two years when charges were set at a level lower than allowed for under the regulatory settlement.

“These charges will help us continue to meet our customers’ expectations, enable investment for resilience, and strike a fair balance between what customers today are paying and what future generations will need to contribute.

"The Water Charges Reduction Scheme, and other discounts, exemptions and reliefs, which apply to around 50% of all households in Scotland, are in place to help customers who may struggle to pay.”

However, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has criticised the move by Scottish Water to hike water charges.

He said: “While Scottish Water sit on hundreds of millions of pounds of reserves and their boss takes home a salary of nearly £300,000, families look set to see their bills go up by nearly a third over three years.

"The company should be using some of their reserves to cushion the impact of these hikes.  

“It makes a mockery of the Scottish Government’s so-called council tax freeze given that the increase in water bills will arrive with council tax bills.

"It will pile pressure on those who can least afford it, while Scottish Water hand out huge pay packets to their bosses."