'Catalogue of issues' - Arun District Council involved in meeting with government minister responsible for water and flooding

A group of South East councils – including Arun District Council – had a meeting this week with Emma Hardy, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water and Flooding.

The Southern Water Local Authority Stakeholder Group – set up by Wealden District Council – ‘holds Southern Water to account regarding water quality and infrastructure problems’.

"The group includes representatives from more than 20 councils across the South East – spanning from Folkestone & Hythe to the New Forest – in the aftermath of a catalogue of issues including flooding, sewage seeping into people's homes, gardens and roads, the ongoing problem of discharges into rivers and waterways and the inability to deal with additional development,” an Arun District Council spokesperson said.

"The group members shared their concerns with the minister, who committed to getting the group more information on Southern Water's investment plans and also agreed to work with the partnership and her officials to continue the dialogue and work towards solutions.”

The ‘main objective’ of the group, the council in Arun says, is to ‘act as a platform for local authorities to come together’ across political party lines, to hold Southern Water – and its regulators – to account for the ‘poor quality of our waterways and coastline’.

The spokesperson added: “It was set up in the aftermath of a catalogue of issues including flooding, sewage seeping into people's homes, gardens and roads, the ongoing problem of discharges into rivers and waterways and the inability to deal with additional development.

“Various meetings have taken place since the group's inception – some of which have included special speakers from Southern Water, the Environment Agency and most recently Water Services Regulation Authority (OFWAT) – which have all been well received and continue to be ongoing.”

Southern Water said this engagement with councils is ‘especially important’ as the company commences its next five year plan ‘where £10 billion will be invested across the region’.

A spokesperson added: “We have strong relationships with the 11 unitary councils in our area, the 37 district and county councils, 56 MPs and myriad other key stakeholders including NGOs, landowner bodies, charities, around 800 parish councils and specialist bodies including wildlife trusts and activist organisations.

“We cannot tackle all the water challenges of the region alone – flooding, protecting rivers and seas and enabling growth require the cooperation and energy of local government too – and we will continue to expand our highly successful partnership with Arun DC.”