Anger over Severn Trent's plans for River Onny
More than 200 people packed into Bishop's Castle Community College, to hear more about controversial plans to build a pipeline to move waste water.Severn Trent Water wants to build the four-mile pipe to take treated sewage from its plant in Bishop's Castle and discharge it into the River Onny.Currently, the water enters the Snakescroft Brook, which runs into the River Kemp and in turn the River Clun.The meeting, organised by Severn Trent, had to be moved to a larger venue as so many people wanted to attend.
The event included a presentation by Natural England, but local campaigner Andy Boak said he was disappointed the Environment Agency and Shropshire Council were not present.
Severn Trent is required to upgrade the treatment works in Bishop's Castle to improve the quality of Snakescroft Brook, which is currently failing to achieve good status under the Water Framework Directive.The Clun is protected by law as it is a conservation area, but the Onny does not have the same status.
Local anglers and conservationists, however, say the Onny is home to wildlife including otters, and kingfishers and a vital breeding ground for brown trout, grayling and Atlantic salmon.A petition against the pipeline has so far attracted 8,500 signatures.
Mayor of Ludlow Beverley Waite has said she is concerned about the impact on the Onny, which flows into the River Teme. "We have bathing status on the Teme, plus salmon and otters," she said."We can't allow this to happen to the Onny. We've got to protect the rivers because if we don't do it, who's going to do it?"Local business owner Bamber, who runs a framing business in the town, said he would rather see money spent on improving the existing infrastructure. "Surely [Severn Trent] can fix the problem at the sewage works so you don't need to put any water into the Onny or the Kemp?" he said."The Onny is beautifully pristine and now they're talking about messing it up."
The water company has previously said that by transferring fully treated waste water to the Onny it can "support the river [Clun's] environmental targets".Severn Trent is considering 10 such transfer schemes at sites across the Midlands including Lichfield and Tewkesbury.The Environment Agency has said the firm will need to be issued with a permit before starting work on the project. "Applications of this nature are rigorously assessed in an open and transparent manner, and include a formal public consultation to ensure that evidence and information provided by local people is taken into consideration," the regulator said.
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