Latest news with #WaterIndustryAct1991
Western Telegraph
5 days ago
- General
- Western Telegraph
Plans unveiled for three-bedroom house in Pembroke Dock
The proposal outlines the construction of a three-bedroom house on land south of 20 Nelson Street, Pennar. Biodiversity and infrastructure improvements are key aspects of the plan. A common hedgerow on the eastern boundary is to be retained, while a new privet hedgerow is to be added to the west. Two fruit trees will also be planted in the back garden. Bird boxes are set to be mounted on the walls of the new building, and the applicant has pledged a Green Infrastructure Net Benefit post-completion. Civil engineering comments submitted on May 21 have outlined that surface water disposal will be managed by a soakaway, subject to ground conditions and percolation tests. However, no detailed surface water design or SAB application had been submitted at the time. Welsh Water, responding on June 5, has no objection to foul water discharge to public sewer and surface water to soakaway, but has set conditions. Surface water or land drainage must not connect to the public sewerage network, and there are advisories over sewer connection permissions under the Water Industry Act 1991 and the potential for unrecorded public sewers on site. The Highways Development Control response, dated June 10, notes that access will be via an unmade lane, used also as a Public Right of Way. The authority considers the traffic impact negligible but has made several recommendations. These include levelling and surfacing the access lane with a permeable material, installing a kerbing structure for pedestrian guidance, submitting a Construction Traffic Management Plan, and providing a swept path analysis for emergency/refuse vehicle access. The Pembroke Dock Town Council Planning Committee has expressed support for the application, with no objections raised. The proposed house will feature a front lawn and low-level shrub planting around the rear patio and lawn area. It will also have off-street parking provision and will ensure protection of pedestrian access along the lane.
The Guardian
29-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Charity in legal action against minister for failing to act over Thames Water
A river charity is taking legal action against the environment secretary, Steve Reed, accusing him of an unlawful failure to publish his policy on taking failing water companies into temporary nationalisation. Lawyers for River Action argue that Thames Water has breached its duties and violated its licence conditions seriously and repeatedly, making it the clearest possible case for special administration. Special administration is a temporary insolvency and restructuring process for companies that provide essential public services such as water, energy and transport. It is designed to ensure continuity of service while the company is stabilised and restructured. There is a bespoke special administration regime (SAR) for the water industry, which was created in 1991 and is designed to prioritise customers and services while putting financial interests second. Reed has said that the government is stepping up preparations to take Thames Water into special administration, indicating he will reject pleas from the company's creditors for leniency from fines and penalties. Thames Water's largest creditors control the utility and have made efforts to cut some of its debts and have offered to provide £5.3bn in new funding to try to turn it around. But River Action's head of legal, Emma Dearnaley, said the time to use the SAR process was now. 'Enough is enough,' she said. 'Why hasn't the secretary of state used special administration to fix the water sector, starting with Thames Water? 'The government has the power but won't use it, or even explain when it might trigger this process. Apparently, the government has no policy at all. That's a fundamental failure of transparency and accountability, and it's unlawful.' River Action has lodged an application for a judicial review against the secretary of state. The claim argues that the government has failed to publish its policy on when it would use the SAR process, breaching core public law duties, and that ministers have failed to develop a policy at all, breaching obligations under habitats regulations and other planning and environmental laws. Under section 24 of the Water Industry Act 1991, special administration can be triggered by a water company's failure to meet performance standards, including environmental pollution, and a breach of its statutory or licence duties in ways that are 'serious enough to make it inappropriate for the company to continue to hold its licence'. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion River Action argues that Thames Water clearly meets that threshold and has done so for years. Serious pollution incidents by Thames and other water companies were up 60% last year compared with the year before, data has revealed. There were 75 serious pollution incidents in 2024, up from 47 in 2023, Environment Agency figures show. Three companies were responsible for 61, or 81%, of the incidents: : Thames Water with 33, Southern Water, 15, and Yorkshire Water, 13. Thames Water's serious incidents more than doubled. A spokesperson for the government said: 'We are unable to comment on an ongoing legal challenge.' Thames Water was approached for comment.
Reuters
07-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
British water companies fight off lawsuits over sewage pollution
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - London's Competition Appeal Tribunal on Friday dismissed mass lawsuits brought against six British water companies for allegedly under-reporting sewage discharges and overcharging millions of customers. The utilities companies, including Britain's largest water provider Thames Water, were accused of misleading industry regulator Ofwat about the number of pollution incidents, which meant they were able to charge higher prices to customers. But the six companies – which also include Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent (SVT.L), opens new tab, United Utilities (UU.L), opens new tab and Yorkshire Water – argued the cases should be thrown out at a hearing in September. The tribunal said in a written ruling on Friday that the cases were excluded by the effect of the Water Industry Act 1991, but that they would have approved the cases otherwise.
