Borough council mulls legal action amid dispute with Southern Water over repeated raw sewage floods
Hastings Borough Council may consider legal action against Southern Water if it fails to respond to the council's demands concerning sewage problems that have caused a series of damaging floods in the town.
The potential action is suggested in a council report prepared for the local authority's cabinet, which details a dispute between the council and Southern Water over repeated flooding of the town centre since 2021.
Issues began in July 2021 when a catastrophic failure of a main sewage pipe in Hastings caused flooding, and two prolonged raw sewage discharges onto Bulverhythe Beach within 48 hours.
More flooding took place in November 2022, January 2023, and February 2023.
According to the report, the November flooding happened because Southern Water removed part of a raised pipe in Pelham, which then became blocked by stones and shingles.
The January flooding caused extensive damage to the town's shopping centre. Some shops closed permanently as a result, with others only just reopening in August 2023.
The February 2023 flood occurred when another sewer pipe on the same network failed, flooding homes and contaminating the Combe River.
The council has arranged numerous meetings with Southern Water management since the floods began but is still not satisfied the firm is doing enough.
In a letter to Southern Water's CEO, council leader, Cllr Paul Barnett, said: "Much has happened since we first met in 2021, following the major sewage leak on the beach at Bulverhythe. Your predecessor, who told me this kind of burst had never happened before anywhere in the world, has left and I do appreciate the efforts you have clearly made to be more open and responsive to us, and the public.
"However, during these two years we continue to see a series of major disasters in Hastings related to Southern Water. Some of these may well be due to the age of your physical infrastructure, some will be down to the way our town has grown and developed, and others will be because of how you manage the service."
The report recommends that Southern Water is "pressed to provide input" to a report being prepared by East Sussex County Council on town centre flooding. It adds that the report should be published as a matter of urgency.
Alongside this, it called on councillors to ask Southern Water to financially compensate the council for the infrastructure failures which have "had a significant impact on the reputation of Hastings as a tourist destination".
It also recommends that the council ask Southern Water to publish detailed plans for all current infrastructure investment taking place in Hastings and to call on the firm to improve its communication with residents in conjunction with the council's communications teams.
"If a satisfactory response is not received by 31st December consider what action might be taken, to include the consideration of legal action," the report notes.
Southern Water has been approached for comment.
Adam Carey
