Thousands of Oxford homes face delay over sewage works

The planned development is near Barton, in Oxford

There are concerns that plans to build thousands of homes around Oxford will be put on hold until a sewage treatment works is upgraded.

The Environment Agency (EA) has objected to an application for 1,400 new homes near Barton, in Oxfordshire.

The estate's toilets would feed into Oxford Sewage Treatment Works, which was due to be upgraded by 2025, but has now been delayed until the 2030s.

Thames Water said it was "finalising plans" for the £130m upgrade works.

The BBC understands the EA's objection came as a shock to planning officers at South Oxfordshire District Council, which is looking to build five thousand homes around the city in total.

Developers Dorchester Residential Management LTD and Christ Church Oxford are keen to start work on the new homes, which would make up the first phase of the Bayswater Brook development to the north of Barton.

The homes would make up the first phase of the Bayswater Brook development to the north of Barton

One significant objection raised by the agency focused on Oxford Sewage Treatment Works, which it said was a site of "significant concern".

Its report found "some serious and significant permit breaches" and said: "While the site is non-compliant with its permit, the risk to the environment remains high."

The objection added that Thames Water had promised upgrade work to the site would be done by March 2025.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We understand that the improvement scheme for Oxford Sewage Treatment Works will not be delivered on time and are concerned that any new housing developments before this is finished will cause an unacceptable environmental risk.

"We remain committed to engaging with Thames Water to agree a suitable plan to improve the works."

Local environmentalists said the site had been dumping untreated sewage into the River Thames "at record levels".

The Oxford Rivers Improvement Campaign (ORIC) said "increasing" levels of raw sewage were being dumped into the Thames and the city's sewage capacity urgently needed to increase.

Upgrades to Oxford Sewage Treatment Works will not be completed until the 2030s

So far this year, the treatment works has dumped untreated sewage into the Thames for 1,307 hours, compared to 1,875 hours during the whole of 2023, according to ORIC.

James Stevens, director for cities at the Home Builders Federation, said the situation was "extremely concerning" and "extremely frustrating".

He said: "It would be extraordinarily inefficient, economically, if the growth of this country has ground to a halt because the utility sector hasn't been investing money."

The 1,400 homes at Bayswater Brook are among thousands more South Oxfordshire District Council plans to build around Oxford as part of its local plan.

Many of these developments would also require access to the Oxford Sewage Treatment Works.

Local planners, who now have to decide whether or not they recommend that South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) approve the application, are believed to be consulting lawyers to help with their decision.

The site has been dumping raw sewage into the River Thames two thirds of the time so far this year

One option could allow the properties to be built, but stipulate that they cannot be occupied until the upgrade work has been completed.

Ash Smith, from Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, described it as a "step towards forcing water companies to act much more quickly".

He added: "Let's be really clear, this is not just Oxford. This is Fairford, this is Witney. I could give you a huge list of sewage works in Thames Water's region that we know are under capacity.

"So this is the start of a very serious fire that might finally force the water companies to do the job that they've been paid to do, not just to take the money."

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: "We work closely with developers and planning authorities across our region to ensure water and sewerage infrastructure can support growth, and where upgrades are needed to accommodate new developments, they will happen.

"We're finalising plans for a major upgrade at Oxford STW, costing more than £130m.

"This will provide a significant increase in treatment capacity, larger storm tanks and a higher quality of treated effluent going to the river."

A spokesperson for developer Bayswater said it had been "engaging with the Environment Agency and Thames Water around sewage capacity".

"After formal engagement with Thames Water no objections were raised on sewer capacity or other matters," it added.

The BBC reported earlier that sewage spills into England's rivers and seas by water companies more than doubled last year.

According to the Environment Agency there were 3.6 million hours of spills compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022.

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