Newquay Town Council passes vote of no confidence in South West Water

Newquay Town Council has unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in South West Water over concerns about sewage pollution and its impact on Cornwall's environment.

Councillors backed the motion in front of a packed public gallery at a meeting on Wednesday evening.

The motion stated: "This 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.

"Therefore this Council resolves to formally declare a Vote of No Confidence in South West Water."

The motion means the council has committed to the Dowr Glan campaign, which means "Clean Water" in Cornish.

The campaign describes itself as a grassroots movement of councillors, activists and residents concerned about the ongoing sewage crisis in Cornwall. It aims to encourage parish and town councils across Cornwall to sign letters of no confidence in South West Water and call for changes to the management of water and sewage services in the county.

The council has also written to the Secretary for State for DEFRA, Emma Reynolds, "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."

Newquay Mayor Drew Creek spoke in support of the motion, highlighting concerns about water quality at Porth Stream and the wider impact on Newquay's environment and tourism industry.

Councillor Creek said he felt strongly about the issue, citing personal experiences and concerns about the effect of pollution on local beaches and waterways.

He said the town's natural assets needed protecting and argued that continued pollution could damage Cornwall's reputation as a tourist destination.

Councillor Creek also criticised South West Water over what he described as a failure to follow through on previous agreements made with the town council as part of efforts to work together on the issue.

Campaign group Clean Sea Newquay welcomed the decision.

In a statement, the group said: "Newquay is the 25th town to do so as a part of the Dowr Glan campaign which is uniting town and parish councils across Cornwall to use their collective voice to call for real change in the way our water is managed."

The group said there had been more than 700 hours of sewage discharges affecting Newquay over the past year and argued that engagement with South West Water had not delivered sufficient improvements.

It added that councils across Cornwall were now calling on the UK Government to bring the company into public ownership.

A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We recognise concerns about water quality in Cornwall and we continue to work proactively with councils through regular bespoke briefings to explain our local plans and deliver improvements. We’re investing £760 million to tackle storm overflows and have reduced spills by 17% in the last year, with spill duration down by 25%. We know there is more to do but the data shows the plan is working."