South West Water responds to claims it isn't tough enough on planning applications

South West Water has been accused of giving ‘bland’ responses on planning applications, given the rise in sewage spills in Devon’s river and coastal waters.

In a recent motion to Torridge District Council, Green Party councillor Peter Christie said he is fed up with SWW’s response of ‘has no objection’ when it is asked to give a view on new plans. He called for an independent organisation to oversee new developments.

But South West Water has said it is not a statutory consultee for planning applications, only an interested party, in its duty to support growth and make sure there is adequate capacity in the sewage/supply network.

It said it did review 30,000 planning applications every year and added relevant comments where it believed it was appropriate.

Speaking at the meeting and in reference to the ‘bland’ claims, Cllr Christie said: “Over the last decade, this is the answer we get, with very few exceptions.

“Clearly, given the current state of our rivers and coastal waters there is a major problem – and it appears to be overlooked that SWW have a vested interest in more development as it means more customers locked into paying them, as water and sewage services are a monopoly service.”

He told the council that according to SWW’s website, there were 341 sewage spills in Torridge last year – 24 in Bideford, 31 in Buckleigh, 144 in Abbotsham, 117 at Weare Giffard and 25 in Torrington.

He added: “South West Water will take the money for every new house but are not doing what they should be doing in tackling the infrastructure.”

The Gazette asked the company for comment. In a statement referring to planning applications, it said: “The comments for consideration will highlight whether there is network improvements needed to be undertaken before the properties can connect and whether a timing clause might be suitable.

“It is a requirement under building regulations to ensure full separation of foul and surface water for any new property that is built and this would fall to the local authority to respond to.  

“To support this, there has been a workshop over the last couple of weeks with North Devon District Council, Torridge and ourselves to review how planning applications are responded to and how we can work better together to add further value to the planning process.”

Also speaking at the Torridge meeting, Cllr Annie Brenton said there is a large new development under construction in Bideford beyond Atlantic Village and the council needed to be ‘really careful and scrupulous’ about planning details for drains and sewerage.

She said: “At the moment, South West Water’s behaviour is scandalous. They don’t carry out their legal responsibilities. They are continually breaking the law. They prevaricate and fob you off.

“We really need to make sure we have an independent, honest assessment of our sewage needs in this area. We need somebody with integrity where profit is not the sole consideration.

“The welfare of our people and our rivers and our sea is just as important as making money.”