logo
Devon and Cornwall campaigners' mixed response to water overhaul

Devon and Cornwall campaigners' mixed response to water overhaul

BBC News21-07-2025
Environmental campaigners and industry stakeholders have given mixed responses to the government's announcement that water regulator Ofwat will be scrapped and replaced.Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the overhaul, which follows an independent review, would "prevent the abuses of the past" and bring together fragmented oversight into a more accountable system.Hannah Pearson from water cleanliness advocates Friends of the Dart cautiously welcomed the move, calling the proposed ombudsman "a powerful tool for change."Campaign group, Cornwall-based Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), condemned the report as insufficient and cosmetic, claiming it was "putting lipstick on a pig".
New water ombudsman will tackle leaks and overchargingFive key takeaways from the landmark water sector reviewWill the water industry proposals make any difference?Water bills will 'never again' jump as high, claims minister
The Water Commission review, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, was set up in response to growing public concern about sewage spills and rising bills.Ms Pearson said: "We often hear people complaining that South West Water are effectively marking their own homework at the moment."She believes sustained investment and government-backed enforcement and needed for significant improvements to river health."What we need to see is not just identifying the problems, but consistent action towards resolving them," she said. "We need the right thing to be done, and we need it to be done methodically and with a long-term view."
'Taken for fools'
Giles Bristow, chief executive of SAS, said the review "utterly fails to prioritise public benefit over private profit". "Only one path forward remains: a full, systemic transformation that ends the ruthless pursuit of profit and puts the public good at the heart of our water services," he said.While the group welcomed the call for a national strategy, Mr Bristow dismissed the regulator overhaul as superficial.He said: "We won't be taken for fools. Abolishing Ofwat and replacing it with a shinier regulator won't stop sewage dumping or profiteering if the finance and ownership structures stay the same."
South West Water said it welcomed the report "and its focus on shaping a stronger water sector for the future"."The proposals outlined today reflect the importance of long-term strategic planning, local accountability, and better environmental and public health outcomes," it said."We are particularly supportive of efforts to update regulation, strengthen asset health, and introduce clearer national direction through a long-term water strategy."
Analysis from BBC South West environment correspondent Kirk England
"From sea swimmers to clean water campaigners, many will be hoping that Sir Jon Cunliffe's review will lead to change, particularly on tackling sewage spills."About a third of England's designated bathing waters are here in the South West."In 2024, although the overall number of spills by South West Water dropped slightly, to 56,000, the duration of those spills rose to 544,000 hours, up from 531,000 in 2023."South West Water has welcomed the publication of the Independent Water Commission's final report and has already said it is investing to tackle sewage discharges."But there are fears the proposed measures don't go far enough and will not lead to what so many people have told me they want to see - a significant and sustained reduction in sewage discharges into rivers and the sea."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UK will recognise Palestine in September unless Israel ‘takes steps' over Gaza
UK will recognise Palestine in September unless Israel ‘takes steps' over Gaza

The Independent

time43 minutes ago

  • The Independent

UK will recognise Palestine in September unless Israel ‘takes steps' over Gaza

The UK will recognise the state of Palestine 'in September' unless Israel takes 'substantive steps' to end the 'appalling situation in Gaza', Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Prime Minister recalled his senior team of ministers from their summer recess to discuss the situation in Gaza, where the population is facing a mounting famine, according to warnings from the United Nations. A readout of the Cabinet meeting issued by Downing Street said Sir Keir told ministers 'now was the right time to move this position' on the two-state solution. The readout continued: 'He said that because of the increasingly intolerable situation in Gaza and the diminishing prospect of a peace process towards a two-state solution, now was the right time to move this position forward. 'He said that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September, before UNGA (UN General Assembly), unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.' It comes after the Prime Minister had been under increasing pressure to recognise Palestine amid the warnings of starvation in Gaza. Speaking from Downing Street's state dining room – sometimes used for press statements – the Prime Minister then told reporters that the Government will 'make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met these steps'. No should 'should have a veto over our decision', Sir Keir insisted. Sir Keir said the British Government was focused on getting aid into Gaza and getting hostages released when asked why Palestinian recognition was conditional on Israel de-escalating the situation. He added: 'This is intended to further that course, and it is done now because I am particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many, many years and, therefore, it should be seen in both of those contexts.' While Sir Keir has suggested UK recognition of Palestine is conditional on the crisis not abating, No 10 is understood to believe that such a two-state solution would also proceed from negotiations towards a sustained peace. The UK will keep working with its allies to 'end the suffering, get aid flooding into Gaza and deliver a more stable future for the Middle East', Sir Keir said, adding: 'Because I know that is what the British people desperately want to see.' In a hardening of his language about the crisis in Gaza, the Prime Minister has claimed the British public is 'revolted' by scenes of starvation in the territory. The UK and its allies need to see 'at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day' to deliver aid, the Prime Minister added, and are together 'mounting a major effort to get humanitarian supplies back in' by air and by land. The Prime Minister discussed a UK-led international plan to alleviate the crisis in Gaza with Donald Trump on Monday, when the US president acknowledged there was 'real starvation' in the territory. Sir Keir has likened the plan he is working on with France and Germany to the coalition of the willing, the international effort to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace. Amid international alarm over starvation in Gaza, Israel announced at the weekend that it would suspend fighting in three areas for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery. The UK confirmed it was taking part in airdrops of aid into the territory. Aid agencies have welcomed the new measures but said they were not enough to counter the rising hunger in the Palestinian territory. Sir Keir has been facing calls from a growing number of MPs to recognise a Palestinian state immediately. More than 250 cross-party MPs have now signed a letter calling for ministers to take the step, up from 221 on Friday.

What did Donald Trump say while in Scotland?
What did Donald Trump say while in Scotland?

STV News

time43 minutes ago

  • STV News

What did Donald Trump say while in Scotland?

Donald Trump has left Scotland after a five-day working holiday. He met with political leaders and made comments about the UK-US trade deal, starvation in Gaza, and applying pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. The US President also cut the ribbon and teed off in celebration of a new 18-hole course at his Trump International Golf Links on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire. Here's a round-up of what he said while he was here. Getty Images Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Turnberry. 'My mother was born in Scotland, and it's an incredible place, a beautiful place,' he told reporters as he stood on the steps of his Turnberry golf resort. Trump said he has a 'great love' for Scotland and that he wanted the country to 'thrive'. He said his mother Mary Anne MacLeod would return to her homeland 'once a year' for a visit. 'So yeah, it gives me a feeling, you know it's different, you go to another country, you have no relationship to it… but it's different when your mother was born here,' he said. The President also said he did not want to 'get involved' in British domestic politics when asked for his opinion on plans for a second referendum on Scottish independence. Trump referred to the suggestion that such a referendum could only take place once in a generation, telling reporters: 'There was a little bit of a restriction, like 50 or 75 years, before you could take another vote because, you know, a country can't go through that too much.' Speaking about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Trump said the children 'look very hungry'. The President has said he is 'working together' with Israel 'to try and get things straightened out' in Gaza amid warnings of severe mass starvation in the enclave. After opening his new golf course in Menie, Aberdeenshire, a reporter from the crowd asked the US President 'what will you say next to Benjamin Netanyahu', the prime minister of Israel. 'We're working together to try and get things straightened out,' Trump said. Earlier during his speech at the course, the US leader said he would fly back to the Washington to 'put out fires all over the world'. Getty Images President Donald Trump boards Air Force One bound for Scotland on July 25. Trump suggested he would reduce the 50-day deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. The President said he was 'very disappointed' with Vladimir Putin. 'We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever,' Trump said. 'We're going to have to look and I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number, because I think I already know the answer, what's going to happen.' Trump said Scotland has 'the ugliest windmills I've ever seen'. He said the 'ugly monsters' were 'destroying the beauty' of Scottish fields and waterways. 'Wind is a disaster,' Trump said, 'Wind is the most expensive form of energy. When we go to Aberdeen you'll see some of the ugliest windmills you've ever seen. 'They're the height of a 50-story building. You could take 1,000 times more energy from a hole in the ground. It's called oil and gas, and you have it in the North Sea.' Trump said he had restricted the construction of wind turbines in the United States because they 'kill all your birds', and he claimed that wind needs 'massive subsidy'. While in Scotland he also hit out at taxes on North Sea oil, saying the resource is a 'treasure chest for the United Kingdom'. 'Incentivize the drillers, fast. A vast fortune to be made for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people,' he wrote on his Truth Social network. The President was also asked about his advice for dealing with the small boats crisis in the UK. 'If you are stopping the wrong people, my hats are off to you,' Trump said. The President said if the 'boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are because other countries don't send their best', then he said the UK is doing a 'fantastic' thing. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

Donald Trump meets John Swinney for private talks before star-studded golf match on final day of Scotland trip
Donald Trump meets John Swinney for private talks before star-studded golf match on final day of Scotland trip

Scottish Sun

time4 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Donald Trump meets John Swinney for private talks before star-studded golf match on final day of Scotland trip

The US President is welcoming a host of A-listers for a star-studded golf match to open his new Aberdeenshire course DON THE COURSE Donald Trump meets John Swinney for private talks before star-studded golf match on final day of Scotland trip Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DONALD Trump has officially opened his new Scottish golf course - his final stop in Scotland before Air Force One departs later today. Last night he flew from Turnberry to the North East and hosted a private dinner with dignitaries including the Prime Minister, First Minister, and high profile business people. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Donald Trump has officially opened his new course in Aberdeenshire Credit: AFP 3 The US President and Sir Keir Starmer after their crunch talks at Turnberry on Monday Credit: Reuters 3 Donald Trump and Keir Starmer wave as they board Air Force One at Prestwick Airport ahead of a flight to north-east Scotland Mr Trump and Sir Keir landed at Menie aboard Marine One, the president's helicopter, which was seen circling the new course before it touched down on Monday evening. Before teeing off at Trump International, the US President met with John Swinney for a private one-to-one. It was the first time the pair have met since they clashed in November last year when the SNP leader called on US voters to back his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the US Presidential election - leading his UK-based business to slam the endorsement as an 'insult'. The President opened the 'new course' at Trump International in Menie, just north of Aberdeen, at a 'grand opening' ceremony shortly before 11am. He thanked his son Eric, who he said had "worked so hard" on creating the New Course at the resort. Trump International's 'new course' is the second at the venue since the newly named 'old course' opened in 2012. The new 18 holes measures 7,589 yards - with Trump International now self-styled as the 'greatest 36 holes in golf'. Mr Trump made a short speech on the first tee of the course before playing a round. It comes after Mr Trump yesterday hosted an 80-minute televised press conference with the Prime Minister after meeting with Sir Keir Starmer at his other golf course at Turnberry, Ayrshire. In it, he blasted wind power - slamming wind turbines as 'ugly monsters' - and urged more drilling in the North Sea. Furious Trump says he'll CUT Putin's 50-day peace deadline and says he's 'disappointed' after latest ruthless Kyiv blitz And he poured cold water on the possibility of a second independence referendum within the next '50 or 75 years'. He also spoke of his love for Scotland due to his late mother's birthplace being in the Isle of Lewis and said: 'My mother loved Scotland. This is a part of the world I want to see thrive.' The second course at Trump International is expected to be dedicated to the president's mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born on the Isle of Lewis.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store