TEST Valley Borough Council passed a motion to sustain pressure on Southern Water to maintain the quality of water bodies in the borough.

The motion proposed by Liberal Democrats group leader Cllr Neil Gwynne was passed at a full council meeting on Wednesday, November 16, after an amendment.

Proposing the motion, Cllr Gwynne said: “In July 2021, Southern Water was fined a record £90m for 6,971 illegal spills of raw sewage in the period 2010 to 2015. This followed – in June 2021 – protected wetland on the Lower Test being flooded with fuel oil. And – to cite a specific local case – many of the objections to the planning application to extend Romsey’s Oxlease Meadows noted Southern Water’s slow and inadequate response to sewage discharge into the nearby canal.

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“In short, Southern Water need to increase investment to address these issues. Southern Water is valued at more than £5.6bn – which is nearly £600m more than just two years ago. Its most recent annual income was £823m. They are currently not paying shareholder dividends, as an acknowledgement that they need to get their act together before doing so.

“We must keep the pressure on them to do just that, and all means of keeping that pressure up therefore need to be applied.”

The motion proposed that the council chief executive write to the secretary of state environment, calling for the Government to urgently address these issues, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee to advocate for greater enforcement of existing regulatory powers, two Test Valley MPs asking for their support, Southern Water chief executive to address the impact of waste-water discharges, National Farmers’ Union regional director, and the charities River Action and The Rivers Trust expressing the council’s support for their campaign to restore the health of Britain’s rivers.

Cllr Janet Burnage seconded the motion.

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Later Cllr Nick Adams-King suggested that the motion be amended to note that the council’s portfolio holder for the climate – Cllr Alison Johnston – should write the letters and add other waterbodies in the borough to the motion, which was agreed by other councillors.

Additionally, Cllr Adams-King also asked to include in the motion that officers report any instances or complaints of pollution in Test Valley’s waterways and rivers to the Portfolio Holder for Climate Emergency and Countryside and that OSCOM be asked to review such reports, including requesting the appropriate agencies account for their actions.

The amended motion was unanimously passed by the full council.