Reassurances have been given to members of the public that steps have been taken to minimise disruption in their village while new £4.5 million water treatment works are built.

Anglian Water will start building the new plant in Mattishall on June 24. It will be built next to – and will eventually replace – the existing works at South Green which were installed in the 1940s and are no longer up to standard.

The water firm was granted planning permission for the development at the end of last month and, according to Anglian Water officials, the work is essential to ensure the continued supply of clean drinking water. Once complete, it is also intended to reduce the amount of water transferred from outside the area – from Little Melton and Lyng Forge water treatment works – making it a more sustainable option.

This week, people were given a chance to discover more about the project at a drop-in session at South Green Park, close to the development site.

During Wednesday's three-hour open event, villagers were given a chance to view the plans, see the traffic management plan which will be put in place, speak to Anglian Water officials and ask questions about how the scheme will impact their water supply.

Bill English, 74, who lives two doors down from the site of the works with his wife Anna, said: 'We are very reassured by what we have been told and seen. We have uneven water pressure at the moment so hopefully that will be solved. The new works will be further away from the present one to us and they are keeping as many trees as possible so it won't look stark and open. We are perfectly happy.'

It is expected the new works will be operational by next summer.

Under the traffic management plan, construction traffic will not travel through Mattishall village itself but will access the site from the west of the A47 leading from Yaxham Road onto Stone Road, and head back to the A47 via Mattishall Road. Traffic will enter the site from the south and leave from the north. There will also be temporary signs put up in Mattishall stating 'no construction traffic'. The works will serve 4,500 homes.

Paul Naylor, from Anglian Water, said: 'The new system will preserve the water supply for years to come, will maintain the good water quality and will be more reliable than the older equipment.'

Do you have a Mattishall story? Email kate.scotter@archant.co.uk.