Privatisation of Water Was a “Mistake” Says Local MP
Paul McLaughlin
Local MP Sally-Ann Hart expressed her “deep frustration” at the poor performance of Southern Water and now believes water privatisation was a “mistake… in hindsight.”
In a wide-ranging talk with the Hastings Independent Press, as part of a series of interviews with candidates from all the main parties who will contest the Hastings and Rye parliamentary constituency at the next General Election, the Conservative MP said she was “exasperated” at the poor levels of service delivered to its customers by Southern Water.
She said the water company’s performance over the past year, from the seemingly never-ending dumping of raw sewage into the sea, the flooding of Hastings town centre and the numerous misconnections and pollution of the waters in Alexandra Park, “have not been good enough”.
Her criticism came in the week when customers in Rye, Winchelsea, Winchelsea Beach, Camber and East Guldeford were left without water, in some cases for up to six days. This comes just weeks after people living in Ore and Fairlight experienced similar problems, and when the water from the taps was finally switched back on, it was discoloured and had a strong smell of chlorine. There have also been repeated problems at Bulverhythe, where a series of burst pipes flooded the beach with sewage.
Sally-Ann Hart said she has been so inundated with complaints about Southern Water that she could employ a full-time researcher just to carry out that casework.
She said water privatisation “created local monopolies without the element of true competition. This means that people living in Hastings and Rye cannot switch suppliers and must use Southern Water.”
She was at pains to stress, however, that the water companies should not be renationalised. Rather, they should be “more stringently regulated”. Ofwat and the Environment Agency “need to be tougher”, she says.
Until very recently, Sally-Ann Hart has taken a more lenient view of Southern Water, welcoming the company’s “record investment plans” to fund improvements. She has also criticised environmental campaigners, like Feargal Sharkey, who she said was “misleading the public” in thinking that better infrastructure and tougher standards could be introduced immediately. It is also in stark contrast to the views she has expressed in Parliament where she has voted on several occasions against measures to improve water quality standards.
Paul Barnett, the Labour Leader of Hastings Borough Council, shares the MP’s concerns. At a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Monday evening (2 October), he presented a report setting out the Council’s frustration at the performance of Southern Water and its failures over the last number of years.
The report details several serious incidents: in Bulverhythe in 2021; at the Pelham outfall in 2022; and, in the town centre in January which have “caused considerable concern to our residents.”
The Council Leader said Southern Water has been repeatedly pressed to provide input to the East Sussex County Council Report into the town centre flooding which, he said, was needed “as a matter of urgency” to enable a final report to be published.
He also noted that Southern Water had been asked to publish detailed plans for all current infrastructure investment taking place in Hastings. Of particular concern, he said, was the need to produce a comprehensive plan for the protection of Old Roar Gill.
Paul Barnett said that if “a satisfactory response is not received by 31 December” the Council will consider what action might be taken. He indicated that this could include legal action against the water company to compensate the Council “for the infrastructure failures which have had a significant impact on the reputation of Hastings as a tourist destination.”
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply