Southern Water Take Action on St Nicholas Road Sewer After Lib Dem Pressure

Hythe Lib Dem campaigners Darren Briddock and Neil Matthews have today written to the Chief Executive of Southern Water to demand an explanation for the delay in fixing a collapsed sewer that serves the residents of St Nicholas Road and Frampton Road in Hythe.

Darren and Neil were first contacted by a resident of St Nicholas Road two weeks ago after she had been told by Southern Water that the hole that had appeared in the path at the rear of her house was nothing to do with their sewers.

Darren and Neil lifted some manhole covers and found the sewers half full of effluent. Shepway District Council covered the hole to prevent accidents later that day and also contacted Southern Water.

Southern Water once again informed Darren and Neil and the District Council that the sewer was not at fault. However Darren and Neil kept putting pressure on the company and challenged them to "convince us that the sewer is in working order". Despite this pressure Southern Water declined to meet the two Hythe campaigners but assured them that they would excavate the sewer to investigate the damage.

On Tuesday morning Southern Water realised the scale of the situation and began pumping raw sewage from the blocked sewer with a tanker. The pumping continued throughout the day until after dark that evening.

Neil Matthews said:

"it is clear that this sewer is damaged and at last, after two weeks of sewage leaking into the ground and washing away the footpath, we have some action from Southern Water, I now want some real answers from the Chief Executive as to why there have been such delaying tactics used to put off an essential repair."

Darren Briddock commented:

"I saw in the local papers last week that two Hythe West Conservative Councillors believe that work like this on behalf of local residents can be done from 180 miles away by email.

"I'd love to see how a local Councillor would investigate a broken sewer by email - it took people here on the ground to fight for local residents."

The letter from Neil and Darren to Southern Water read:

Re: Sewer at Frampton Road / St Nicholas Road, Hythe, Kent.

Over two weeks ago residents became concerned about a deep hole that had appeared in the footpath separating the two terraces of houses of the above roads. Suspecting a faulty sewer, your company was alerted by the residents of the problem but your investigator reported sewage freely flowing and the hole was not the concern of your company.

On Saturday 9th February residents brought their concerns to myself and my colleague. It was instantly obvious that the hole in the footpath was a hazard, and the risk of injury to anyone walking down this path was extremely high. The District Council made the area safer within hours, at our request, after we alerted them to the danger.

The District Council again brought this 'hole' to your attention as they believed a faulty sewer was to blame. Following another visit, your engineers assured the Council the hole was not a concern of your company. We telephoned your company the next day and asked for a site meeting - so your engineers could demonstrate why they gave their absolute assurance that the hole was not a result of a broken sewer. It was and still is, our opinion that the hole is a result of sewage 'wash-out' and if left unchecked would result in catastrophic failure.

The meeting was not arranged but a message was left with us stating Southern Water would excavate. Yesterday a tanker was pumping out the blocked sewer all day. We understand excavation is now underway.

As we wish to fully inform the residents of the true situation, could we ask that you contact us, with the facts and why it took over two weeks for southern water to act in this case.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Matthews & Darren Briddock

Liberal Democrat Campaigners for Hythe