Campaigners Question How Southern Water Petition Was Handled

Campaigners behind a petition calling for no-confidence in Southern Water have raised concerns about how the Isle of Wight Council dealt with it.

Sustainable Freshwater submitted a petition with 3,697 signatures, calling for stronger action against the water company over its environmental record.

The group says it wants the council to review whether the petition was handled properly, transparently and in line with its own procedures.

The petition called for serious intervention, stronger enforcement, greater transparency and meaningful consequences for what campaigners described as Southern Water’s continued failures.

Instead of approving the motion set out in the petition, councillors agreed an alternative proposal put forward by independent council leader Jonathan Bacon and Reform UK councillor Les Kirkby in July.

That included writing to Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Environment Secretary to express the council’s serious concerns about Southern Water’s environmental performance.

It also called for appropriate lobbying to push for stronger enforcement and greater accountability from water companies.

Sustainable Freshwater has since asked the council’s Policy, Finance and Resources Committee to review how its petition was dealt with.

The group says it has been seeking a clear timeline explaining what happened to the petition and how the subsequent motion was handled.

It wants the review to look at the petition process, the alternative motion, opportunities for scrutiny, declarations of interest, and the financial and staffing implications.

However, a report from the council’s monitoring officer, Christopher Potter, recommends that the committee rejects the request.

The report says the petition and subsequent motion were debated publicly and subject to democratic votes.

The alternative motion was approved by 32 votes to none, with two councillors abstaining.

The Policy, Finance and Resources Committee will consider Sustainable Freshwater’s request at its meeting at 5pm next Thursday, October 8.