Cornwall Council to vote on ‘Dowr Glan’ South West Water motion

Campaigners will gather outside New County Hall in Truro from early on Tuesday morning, and by lunchtime Cornwall Council could have voted to declare that it has no confidence in South West Water.

What councillors are voting on

On Tuesday 21 July, Cornwall Council will decide whether to back the Dowr Glan campaign, declare no confidence in South West Water and call for the company to be taken into public ownership. Dowr Glan means “Clean Water” in Cornish.

The vote follows a letter, which forms part of the motion, being handed to Leigh Frost, Leader of Cornwall Council. Campaigners say the same letter is also being delivered to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Chief Executive of water regulator Ofwat, and all six of Cornwall’s Members of Parliament.

The motion is being brought by Dean Evans, the Green Party’s Cornwall Councillor for Penryn, together with Cllr Loveday Jenkin of Mebyon Kernow, who represents Crowan and Wendron.

Around 60 councils have backed the campaign

Roughly 60 of Cornwall’s town and parish councils have put their weight behind the cross-party campaign, according to its organisers. They say this represents well over half of the people of Cornwall and includes all of the Duchy’s major towns, along with dozens of smaller towns and parishes whose residents have seen local beaches and waterways affected by sewage spills.

The full list of councils that have passed the motion is published on the Dowr Glan website, along with the full text of the motion of no confidence.

Because so many councils have signed up, organisers say the motion is expected to pass with cross-party support.

A message aimed at the new prime minister

The vote comes the day after Andy Burnham took office as prime minister. Campaigners say the timing is deliberate, and that they want the result to hold the new prime minister to his promise to bring key services back under public control.

What the campaigners say

Campaign organiser Mael Garrec, a Mebyon Kernow town councillor in Penryn and the town’s Deputy Mayor, said years of underinvestment in water and sewage infrastructure had left communities across Cornwall dealing with repeated sewage spills.

“Cornwall has suffered from years of underinvestment in water and sewage infrastructure, with money from our water bills that should have been spent on this being creamed off as shareholder profit and fat-cat salaries and bonuses,” Mael said. “The result is a never-ending slew of sewage spills that have impacted communities all across Cornwall.”

He said the aim of the campaign was straightforward. “The aim of this campaign is very simple: to show that the people of Cornwall have had enough of South West Water and want to see this monopoly utility back in public hands and managed for the common good, for people and environment, not private profit.”

Dean Evans said he expected strong cross-party backing in the chamber. “We know that there will be strong cross-party support for our motion on Tuesday. So many people in Cornwall have first-hand experience of sewage spills, not to mention steep rises in their water bills year after year. Bringing water back into public ownership is a policy that has broad support right across the political spectrum.”

“As councillors, we are giving voice to the people in our communities, and the strength of their feeling on this could not be clearer,” Dean added.

Cllr Loveday Jenkin was more pointed about the company’s record. She said South West Water had been convicted of multiple criminal offences over both contaminated drinking water and illegal sewage discharges, and argued it had “lost its social licence to operate”.

“Cornwall has more than enough of the public relations spin with which they seek to sweeten the smell of raw sewage,” Loveday said. She added that Andy Burnham had promised to devolve power to a regional level and to bring public services back under public control, and that Tuesday’s vote was intended to press him on it. “On Tuesday, the people of Cornwall will deliver a very clear message to Mr Burnham and his government: we expect these fine words to be backed up with real action, starting with the failed privatised water industry.”

The timeline for Tuesday

Events are due to run through the morning and into the early afternoon at New County Hall / Lys Kernow in Truro.

• 8am, the rally. Local councillors, community leaders, residents and environmental groups are set to speak about the impact of the sewage issue on beaches, rivers and wildlife.
• 9am, the handover. Campaigners plan to hand their collective letter of no confidence to the Leader of Cornwall Council and to MPs, who have been invited to the event.
• 10.30am to 1pm, the vote. A cross-party group of councillors from the Greens, Mebyon Kernow, the Liberal Democrats, Labour, Independents and the Conservatives is expected to take part in the debate and vote in the chamber.
• 1pm, the press conference. Councillors and campaigners are due to answer questions outside New County Hall once the result is known.

Campaigners have also published a page setting out Cornwall’s sewage crisis in facts and figures.