'Shocking' levels of sewage prompts council vote

The council voted unanimously in favour of the motion for "urgent and accelerated" investment by Severn Trent

Local councillors have voted unanimously in support of a motion calling for investment to tackle the "shocking" levels of sewage pollution in the River Avon.

Tewkesbury Borough Councillor Matt Dimond-Brown put forward the motion at a meeting during which he criticised the thousands of hours of "untreated sewage discharges" from local sewage installations.

The motion further called for "urgent and accelerated investment" from Severn Trent at the Lower Lode Sewage Treatment Works and Pumping Station and Twyning Sewage Treatment Works.

Severn Trent said it was investing £160m in the county to reduce the use of storm overflow and on a project to help improve river health.

'Open sewers'

Councillor Dimond-Brown said: "This borough is shaped by its rivers, from the Avon and the Severn to the smaller brooks and streams that run through our parishes.

"Water is part of our landscape, economy and daily lives.

"Rivers bring people here. They support tourism, farming and fishing.

"They provide places for families to walk and play and they define our communities just as much as our roads, schools and shops and yet today these rivers are being treated as open sewers."

Councillor Matt Dimond-Brown presented the motion on Tuesday

With thousands of homes expected to be built in the area, the motion also called for a "clear plan for managing additional housing growth without worsening sewage discharges."

Severn Trent Water said that a "£2bn region-wide investment" was already benefitting the area with "all three overflows currently seeing around a 65 percent reduction in spills".

The company added: "We plan to have completed thousands of storm overflow and river improvement projects across our region by this autumn, including at Twyning where we are already increasing sewage storage capacity.

"We look forward to receiving the council's comments and will provide a full response to any concerns raised."