Essex and Suffolk Water’s investment in a new site in Lowestoft has been hailed as an endorsement of the town during a naming and topping out ceremony.

The company has named its still to be completed customer service centre off Canning Road as Trinity House.

Costing nearly £4million, the building is due to be completed in June and will replace Essex and Suffolk Water’s current customer service base in Lowestoft’s Rectory Road at a former convent.

As well as providing improved facilities for the existing 180 customer services staff, there are also plans to employ up to 70 further staff over the next five years at the new building.

The naming and topping out ceremony appropriately saw jugs off water being poured on the roof of Trinity House by Dr Simon Lyster, a board member of Northumbrian Water Group, of which Essex and Suffolk Water is a part of, and Peter Aldous, Waveney MP.

Mr Aldous said: “It is a real endorsement of the town.”

Dr Lyster said: “It is a vote of confidence, not only in Lowestoft, but of the fantastic people we have working here. The staff are going to love it. “It is terrific.”

The name Trinity House was chosen for three reasons: the company abstracts water from the Trinity Broad near Great Yarmouth, the group supplies water to three principal areas, in Essex, Suffolk and the North East and the name is associated with port areas.

Ian Donald, customer services director for Northumbrian Water Group, said: “This project brings important additional investment and employment to the Lowestoft area.”

The centre is being constructed by RG Carter and the architects are Feilden and Mawson.