Radical legal claim made against South West Water
Exmouth businesses and residents will make history as they become the first community to launch a legal claim against a water company. They say they have suffered as a result of South West Water's sewage pollution.
After a summer of sewage spills, including a major sewer burst in the middle of August, hundreds of people in the seaside town are taking South West Water to court. The group will claim that the water company's actions have led to a downturn in tourism, which has impacted business.
Over the summer, Exmouth was hit by a series of 'do not swim' notices issued by the Environment Agency, which is believed to have turned some tourists away.
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The group is being represented by Leigh Day Solicitors, who also worked with local woman Jo Bateman on her individual claim that sewage being discharged into the sea had left her unable to swim at Exmouth beach on multiple occasions.
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The firm says it was Jo's action that put them in touch with others in the town who said they had been impacted by sewage pollution. They held a public meeting, which was attended by around 300 people voicing their anger on the issue, including businesses reliant on tourism, sea fisheries, wild swimmers and water sports enthusiasts.
The claim will be the first case of its kind after a Supreme Court ruling last year made it possible to bring community-led claims against a water company for nuisance caused by discharges into public waterways.
In 2022 and 2023, South West Water was rated a two stars out of a possible four in an Environmental Performance Assessment report by the Environment Agency. Currently, the water company is facing 30 charges relating to illegal discharges and breaches of environmental permits between 2015 and 2021 across Cornwall and in Plymouth.
Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland said: "Since representing Jo Bateman in her case against South West Water, it has become clear that sewage pollution is an issue many people and businesses in the Exmouth community feel they have been affected by. Having met with local representatives to investigate and discuss next steps, we are now launching this legal claim against SWW.
"This is a groundbreaking legal action and is the first time a community has mobilised to hold a water company to account by taking advantage of a change in the law following the recent Supreme Court decision. This legal action has the potential to not only hold SWW to account for their pollution in Exmouth, but also to deter water companies from polluting rivers and seas up and down the country."
South West Water has responded to the announcement, saying it "cares deeply about the quality of our region's bathing waters". It says it is working bring forward planned improvement to the water network in Exmouth, including upgrading pumping stations and treatment works.
A spokesperson for the water company said: "Like all our customers, we care deeply about the quality of our region’s bathing waters and fully understand how important this is to residents, businesses and visitors in Exmouth.
"We are working with our regulatory partners to bring forward our planned improvements in Exmouth. This includes upgrading our pumping stations and treatment works to significantly reduce the number of spills.
"We are continuing to do everything we can to protect the environment as part of our £38 million investment in Exmouth."