Councillors at Cornwall’s unitary authority overwhelming passed a motion declaring a vote of no confidence in South West Water and the transfer of SWW into some form of public ownership.
The motion was proposed by Mebyon Kernow’s Cllr Loveday Jenkin and it was seconded by Dean Evans of the Green Party. Signatories to the motion included other councillors from the Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Independent and MK groups.
It was founded on the Dowr Glan campaign, spearheaded by Mebyon Kernow councillor Mael Garrec who is the deputy mayor of Penryn, which has been supported by nearly sixty town and parish councils.
A number of comments from across the chamber were incorporated into the initial proposal. It was supported by all councillors present – bar two abstentions.
Cllr Loveday Jenkin said: “We put forward this motion for consideration today following on from nearly 60 Town and Parish Councils, representing over half the residents of Cornwall who have signed a similar motion of no confidence in SWW. This is not a vote of no confidence in the people on the ground who live locally and who work for SWW as best they can with the tools and funding given to them to maintain our aging network. No, this is about strategic mismanagement of our infrastructure and resources.
“The Dowr Glan motion states; We are no longer requesting ‘improvements’ or ‘consultations.’ South West Water has failed for more than a decade to show its capability and willingness to manage our water and sewage system. We are formally petitioning the Government and Ofwat to remove SWW from the management of the Cornish sewage and water systems, and transfer the ownership and management of our sewage and water system to a publicly-owned organisation, run as a public service.
“The grass roots campaign Dowr Glan has harnessed the frustration that people and communities across Cornwall have felt for many years about the lack of a partnership approach by SWW and its parent group Pennon to individuals and communities and local authorities struggling with infrastructure problems.
“Cornish rivers and seas are the lifeblood of our economy and our identity. We will no longer stand by while they are managed into decline.
“We need to show SWW that we mean business in Cornwall.”
The motion as agreed, was as follows:
1.That Council notes with grave concern the systemic failure of South West Water to manage the sewage system in Cornwall. Despite record bills and government intervention, raw sewage continues to impact our environment and public health.
2. That Council resolves:
a. To formally declare a Vote of No Confidence in South West Water.
b. To instruct the Leader to write to both the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Chief Executive of Ofwat, to inform them of the no confidence vote, and to petition for the Government and Ofwat to remove SWW from the management of the Cornish water and waste water systems and transfer the ownership and management to a publicly owned organisation, run as a public service. The letter should also request that,
(i) as part of any future reform, consideration be given to a public benefit company model, under which financial surpluses are reinvested into water and wastewater infrastructure and services rather than distributed as shareholder dividend
(ii) the Government publish the legal route, anticipated timetable, financial implications and arrangements required to protect customers, employees, infrastructure investment and continuity of service;
(iii) immediate enhanced regulatory intervention and a published Cornwall-specific improvement plan while that transfer is being developed;
Pending the outcome of (a) and (b)
(c) To instruct the Leader to write to South West Water requesting that, within three months, it establish and maintain a publicly accessible online Cornwall Water Performance Dashboard, that (i) is updated at least monthly, to provide residents with clear, accessible and locally relevant information on the operation and performance of Cornwall’s water and wastewater network. (ii) is developed in consultation with Cornwall Council through a cross-party member working group and designed to maximise transparency, public understanding and accountability. (iii) enables users to view and compare trends in storm overflow discharges, emergency overflow discharges and dry-weather discharges; discharge frequency and duration over time; the relationship between rainfall and discharge activity; performance across different parts of Cornwall; progress against environmental and operational targets; and progress against infrastructure investment commitments, delivery milestones and improvement programmes. (d) Council calls upon South West Water to undertake and publish an independent review of its environmental and operational performance targets, delivery milestones and associated timescales, and to revise them where necessary to reflect the urgency of Cornwall’s environmental challenges and the reasonable expectations of its customers and communities.