Water charge opponents planning day of protest

Campaigners against water charges in the North are planning a day of protest next month.

Rallies against the British government's reform of water services are due to take place in Belfast and Derry on February 12.

All of the North's political parties are united in their opposition to the planned reforms, which will see the average household facing an annual charge of £115 (€166) from April 2006, rising to an average of £340 (€490) two years later.

Announcing the planned protests today, Tom Gillen from the Water Coalition, an umbrella group representing trade unions and community groups, said the planned system was unfair.

He said people in general did not mind paying equitable charges for water supplies, but the British government's planned charges included initial water infrastructure costs, which, he said, the public had already paid for through the part of their rates set aside for water and sewage projects.