A PLAN to charge Hampshire householders more for their water in the summer has been condemned as a “stealth tax” by gardeners.

The body that represents the UK’s garden industry warned the new seasonal tariff could force some local gardeners to neglect their plants.

As first revealed by the Daily Echo, Southern Water customers are set to pay six per cent more for their water in the summer months between June and September.

The controversial tariff will be introduced in June when the compulsory street-by-street installation of new “smart” AMR water meters begins.

A spokesman for the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) last night said: “The new seasonal tariff announced by Southern Water is no more than a stealth tax, forcing prices up quite unreasonably.

“The water they’re supplying has cost no more to collect or process than at any other time of the year.”

Southern Water claimed the average water bill, about £373 a year, would not rise over the course of a year. They say this is because they plan to also drop the price of water in the winter months, between October and March, by two per cent.

However, the HTA said the new charge would penalise Hampshire’s gardeners.

“We are extremely concerned that this sort of behaviour will simply force Britain’s 20 million gardeners to pay far more to water their gardens, or force them to neglect and kill off valuable plants,” the spokesman added.

“The Flood and Water Management Bill currently going through Parliament requires water companies to produce a clear code of practice to ensure efficient water use, during periods of shortage, without unnecessarily discriminating against gardeners.

“It is deeply regrettable that water companies are not more actively supporting this approach, rather than concentrating their actions on simply raising their prices.”

Southern Water, which has been ordered to reduce how much water it abstracts from the River Itchen, hopes the tariff will encourage residents to use less water in the summer.

A spokesman said gardeners should swap their sprinkler for a watering can and wash their car with a bucket and sponge, rather than a hose.

They also advised householders to collect rainfall by connecting a water butt to their garden’s drainpipe.

Earlier this week, the company also confirmed water bills would rise by five per cent over the next five years.