Bala: Fears sewage problem putting developments on hold

There are concerns phosphates are leaching into the river Dee near Bala, Gwynedd

Sewage works near a town need an urgent upgrade due to fears the discharge is polluting a river and stalling further development, according to councillors.

There are fears new developments in Bala, Gwynedd, will not get planning permission due to phosphate levels in the River Dee.

Plans are in place to extend the Bala Lake Railway into Bala itself and there are also plans for more housing.

Welsh Water said it would start work on the Bala plant in the autumn.

The Welsh government says it wants all sectors to work together to find solutions to reduce pollution levels in waterways across the country.

Phosphates are naturally occurring minerals found in human and animal waste.

Natural Resources Wales has set new targets for phosphate pollution in Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) across the country in 2021.

The river Dee and Llyn Tegid have been designated as a Special Area of Conservation

Since then, some planning applications have stalled over fears additional sewage generated would lead to more phosphates reaching rivers.

The River Dee runs from Llyn Tegid to the sea near Chester. The lake and river have been designated a SAC.

• River pollution threatening thousands of new homes

• Treatment plant in £3.6m upgrade to help river

The sewage works were "leaching a lot of phosphates into the Dee catchment", according to councillor Alan Jones Evans, who represents Llanuwchllyn on Gwynedd council.

Alan Jones Evans says the situation is an emergency

He said councillors are "calling on Welsh Water to bring forward their expenditure review so they can tackle this problem forthwith.

"Really it's an emergency situation, the river Dee is one of the main rivers in Wales and it needs to be treated with utter respect."

Mr Jones Evans said until the issue was regulated, the planning process was at a "complete halt" and Welsh Water needed to look at the issue before the spending review in 2030.

Dilwyn Morgan says the authorities need to work with developers

Councillor Dilwyn Morgan, who represents Bala on Gwynedd council, said the authorities needed to work together to find solutions rather than having "a moratorium on all planning applications and development".

"We have a major problem here in town with the sewage system, which as far as I know, no work has been done for over the last decade to upgrade that, so we all need to work together and sort this problem out and keep moving on with projects in the area," he said.

"As things stand at the moment the lack of proper sewage services in town are putting a stop to all major developments and that's not sustainable."

He urged Welsh Water to look into the matter and said the authorities needed to work with developers.

In a statement, Welsh Water said it was investing more than £6m in Bala wastewater treatment works this autumn, which will take around 20 months to complete and help improve river water quality and accommodate future growth in the area.

"The work at the treatment works will follow the £500,000 we have already invested in the town's wastewater network to improve its performance by reducing the amount of surface water which enters the network," it said.

"The investment at the site will increase capacity and treatment capability at the works which will benefit the local community and environment for decades to come. We will be sharing more information about the work with local stakeholders and the community closer to the time."

The Welsh government said: "The recent phosphate summit, chaired by the first minister, emphasised the need to work constructively with all sectors to find solutions to reduce and address excess nutrients in the soil and SAC rivers of Wales."