Sussex Weald MP calls for South East Water to be ‘more transparent’ about infrastructure and water supply at Heathfield meeting

Conservative Nusrat Ghani said the meeting took place with the water company’s CEO John Halsall at Heathfield Community Centre on Friday, October 23.

The MP said more than 80 people came out in stormy weather to attend the event.

The meeting came after Government declared a ‘severe drought’ in parts of East and West Sussex.

Ms Ghani said: “Most of us accept the need to use water and natural resources wisely, but it is also entirely reasonable to ask what the water companies are doing to ensure that services continue.”

She said her constituents have already had years of supply issues, adding: “Earlier this year were subject to imposed curfews by the water company.”

She continued: “We all appreciate that it is a tough job, but the local community remains unconvinced that enough is being done to keep on top of leaks and that the quality of the work being undertaken is to the highest standard. Residents and businesses across my constituency continue to be left without reliable supplies on a regular basis and this is only going to be made worse by the increase in housing stock, changing rainfall and weather patterns.”

South East Water has confirmed that it implemented temporary use bans in 2022, 2023, 2025 and 2026. The company said it had also applied for a Non-Essential Use Ban (NEUB) in 2025 and 2026, but withdrew its 2025 application ‘due to the drought being in recession’. South East Water said: “At this moment our 2026 application is with Defra to make a determination on.”

Ms Ghani said John Halsall was asked a series of questions at the recent meeting, which related to the network, and said he apologised for the issues relating to supply. When asked about South East Water’s role in the planning system, he acknowledged that the company is not a statutory consultee. But he said South East Water is working with planning authorities across their region to make sure there is room to deliver the Government’s housing growth targets.

Ms Ghani said members of the public, including speakers from Hellingly, Wadhurst and Warbleton parishes, raised questions about drought preparedness, leaks and reservoirs. The MP said she is committed to keeping pressure on the issue and said people can find out more at nusghani.org.uk/SEW.

Katy Ringsdore, Corporate Affairs Director at South East Water said: “We were grateful for the chance to speak directly to customers in Heathfield who were impacted by the outage in the Summer. We are of course very sorry for the disruption that was caused.

“We’re working on a number of solutions in the short, medium and long-term to improve resilience in our network across Sussex, and we are working even closer with stakeholders such as local authorities and local MPs to ensure that our communication is clearer than ever.”