On 25th July 2024 Green Party councillor Sarah Waite-Gleave was on the BBC local news speaking out about how worried local swimmers are that the seawater at Deal Castle Beach has been down-graded from ‘excellent’ in 2019, to ‘good’ in 2021 and to ‘sufficient’ in 2023. The week earlier this story was on the front page of the local press with quotes from Gerry and Jill Carter and Sea Café owner Pete St Ange, pointing out there are fears that Deal / Walmer could be hit with a do-not-swim warning if the deterioration continues.
The worsening water quality, related to faecal pollution, has happened despite assurances from Southern Water that they are taking action. And while Southern Water continue to pay large bonuses to executives. BBC covered the story that Lawrence Gosden CEO of Southern Water got a £183,600 bonus in July 2024 although this water company has announced plans to increase household bills by 73% between now and 2029. On 5th Sept 2024 we wrote to Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp asking him to attend a meeting in parliament on 10th Sept organized by anti-sewage groups who want much more action from the new government on the water pollution issue and we urged other to write too. The link is on our facebook page.
In early 2024, Green councillors on Walmer Town Council (Pete Findley, Sarah and Mike Eddy) persuaded their colleagues to approve a ‘Motion for the Ocean’ and consequently WTC sent strong requests to DEFRA, to KCC and to DDC to take urgent action to stop sewage spills on Kent coasts, to clean up waters, stop fecal, plastic and chemical pollution and restore marine biodiversity.
Back in Oct 2021, when she was a cllr on Deal Town Council, our parliamentary spokesperson Christine Oliver, initiated a resolution by Deal Town Council, “Deal Town Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision by the MP for Dover and Deal to vote in favour of allowing water companies to continue to discharge raw sewage into the sea and water courses at levels above EU regulation standard.
View article: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/amp/perverse-in-the-extreme-256480/
Members of your local Green Party will continue to keep a close eye on the reports of the Environment Agency and to campaign for a clean up of coastal waters and rivers in East Kent, and support all local campaigners on this issue. We were also part of the Save our Seas rally at Ramsgate with national campaigner Feargal Sharkey in February 2023.
Christine Oliver, parliamentary spokesperson for the Green Party in Dover and Deal said: ‘It is not surprising that campaign groups will be demanding much tougher action on Tues 10th Sept and again on Sat 26th October when there will be a March for Clean Water in London. Raps on the knuckles from Ofwat will not solve the problem caused by the failed privatization of water treatment and supply.
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