Newbury Town Councillor and Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Newbury, Steve Masters, has requested that West Berkshire Council takes decisive action against Thames Water for polluting our communities.
Newbury Town Councillor and Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Newbury, Steve Masters, has requested that West Berkshire Council takes decisive action against Thames Water for polluting our communities.
Under Section 79e and section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act (1990) there is a requirement for local authorities to serve an abatement notice where a statutory nuisance exists. In this case against Thames Water. Councillor Masters requested this a week ago and has received no response from senior officers at the council.
Section 79e states that this is applicable where there is '(e) any accumulation or deposit which is prejudicial to health or a nuisance'. In this case the discharge of sewage onto the streets and into the rivers in the Pang Valley, Lambourn Valley and Newport Road area, resulting in the deposit of faecal material, toilet paper, wet wipes and sanitary products.
Section 80 states 'where a local authority is satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists, or is likely to occur or recur, in the area of the authority, the local authority shall serve a notice (“an abatement notice”) imposing all or any of the following requirements— (a) requiring the abatement of the nuisance or prohibiting or restricting its occurrence or recurrence; (b) requiring the execution of such works, and the taking of such other steps, as may be necessary for any of those purposes, and the notice shall specify the time or times within which the requirements of the notice are to be complied with'.
Local councils have an obligation to issue an abatement notice, notwithstanding any powers that any other regulators may have. There is legal precedent, namely Regina v Carrick District Council ex parte Shelley dated 3 April 1996.
Councillor Masters said: 'As a flood warden and town councillor I have been supporting residents experiencing flooding and sewage pollution over the past four months.
'Thames Water's failure to act is prejudicial to health. Residents in villages in the Pang and Lambourn Valleys have been sprayed with sewage by passing cars, and have experienced back-up of sewage into toilets, showers and kitchen sinks. The company's actions are also prejudicial to users of the waterways including myself as the occupant of a narrowboat on the Kennet.
'It is time that the authorities stop passing the buck and take the action that is legally available to them, and indeed is their obligation, to demand that Thames Water stops polluting our neighbourhoods and poisoning our residents.'
In 2022, Steve Masters presented a public petition to West Berkshire Council, signed by more than 1,700 residents, requesting that the council ask our local MPs why they failed to vote for stronger measures against sewage discharges when debating the then Environment Bill (now an Act). The petition was rejected by Full Council on 17 March 2022.
As no response has yet been received from West Berkshire Council Cllr Masters will now consider all avenues available to him on behalf of concerned stakeholders and residents across West Berkshire up to and including judicial review.
Contact: Councillor Steve Masters
07476 810230
stevemasters753@gmail.com