As Avon suffers record sewage dumping, Stratford candidates call for tougher action on water companies
THE one thing that all the political candidates in Stratford agree upon is that action needs to be taken to stop the pollution of our rivers.
An explosion of public outrage greeted the Environment Agency report published in late March that found the amount of raw sewage being pumped into rivers more than doubled in 2023.
Shocking figures revealed that Severn Trent was responsible for sewage being dumped 1,648 times for 16,691 hours into Stratford-on-Avon’s rivers last year.
No wonder water-testers for environmental group SafeAvon found that nitrate and phosphate readings were “through the roof” -making local waterways highly toxic.
Over the past couple of years, the Herald has covered numerous examples of streets flowing with raw sewage, pensioners’ gardens deluged by faecal matter and homes flooded as new houses put a strain on sewers in places such as Shipston, Newbold, Ilmington and Cherrington.
The Liberal Democrats have river pollution as a key manifesto issue nationally, and have called for a new protected status for local rivers and marine protected areas.
Furthermore they would scrap Ofwat and introduce a new regulator with greater powers, and put a ban on water company executive bonuses until they deal with the issues.
Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrat candidate for Stratford-on-Avon said: “Our precious rivers have been destroyed after years of a Conservative government letting water firms get away with environmental vandalism.
“It is time we got tough on polluting and profiteering water firms, yet Conservative MPs have stood by whilst swimmers have become ill and wildlife killed by sewage discharges.
“This scandal has to end now. The Conservative party has failed to protect swimmers and wildlife.”
The call to arms is being repeated by Labour’s candidate Seyi Agboola, who told the Herald: “Since the last general election, the Tories have broken our water industry. Weakening regulation allowed the sewage system in Stratford to crumble and illegal sewage leaking into the River Avon to hit record levels.
“Labour will put failing water companies under special measures; to force water companies to clean up their toxic mess.
“We will strengthen regulations to give the water regulator powers to block the payment of any bonuses until water bosses have cleaned up their filth.”
Reform UK’s James Crocker was also taking a strong stance. He told the Herald: “The national government needs to take the water providers to task, there has to be a rethink after so many new houses have been built. I’ve lived in Stratford since 2009 and my wife would go swimming in the river, but now there’s no chance of that happening again because you could pick up a very nasty bug. Rowing is probably the only thing you can do as an activity on the river now.”
The Conservative government has been called out for rejecting an amendment to the 2021 Environment Bill that would have placed a legal duty on water companies not to pump waste into rivers.
However, Conservative candidate Chris Clarkson recalled: “As an MP I was proud to support unlimited fines for the water companies who violate our waterways and I am committed to an affordable, sensible and manageable modernisation of our water infrastructure.
“As Conservatives we believe the environment is one of the most important things we can conserve.”
It’s not just the water companies that are coming under fire. Serious questions are being asked over planning regulations that allow houses to be built in areas that are prone to flooding or where sewers are clearly inadequate.
Just recently Newbold residents slammed the “failing” planning process which saw Stratford District Council give five houses the green light in March in an area plagued by sewage overflow.
SDC initially turned down an application in July 2023 for five large new houses in Mill Lane, Newbold, because gardens went beyond the permitted boundary of the village. Once the developer altered its plans, SDC was seemingly powerless to reject the appeal despite residents raising red flags over inadequate sewerage in the lane – as that was not a valid objection under planning laws.
Even though developers are not meant to automatically connect to the sewage system, in reality this is exactly what happens.
A Severn Trent spokesperson confirmed: “There is no longer an automatic right to connect to the sewerage network. However, it is recognised that in some locations there will be no practicable alternative other than connecting the surface water to the sewerage network. It is the developer’s responsibility to demonstrate that all other possible alternatives have been explored.”
This seemingly haphazard approach, with developers left to self-govern, is perhaps especially worrying given the recent EA report.
It also has catastrophic consequences for residents, says Dr Stella Khan.
She has lived in one of the riverside houses at the bottom of Mill Lane for 20 years with her husband Michael.
Dr Khan said: “The once rural Mill Lane has seen a ridiculous amount of development over the last few years; 45 altogether with an application for another four currently with SDC.”
“We’ve previously been told by Severn Trent engineers that they can’t believe that more houses are being put on to this overburdened sewage system. But no one in authority is listening to us.”
