Our residents and Councillors are aware of the increasing issues with the sewage treatment works in St Buryan operating at (what appears to be) overcapacity. This is evidenced by the number of tankers visiting to take away excess waste, the duration of continuous tanker visits to deal with the excess waste, and increase in pungent smells emanating from the plant, and (since the closure of the smaller adjacent works) the increase in rat issues in the village.
WE NEED OUR RESIDENTS TO REPORT EACH INCIDENT TO SWW at www.southwestwater.co.uk on 0344 346 1010 in order to get action on the issues.
If no action is taken please contact us and the Consumer Council for Water CCW at www.ccw.org.uk or on 0300 034 222
TIPS ON MAKING A COMPLAINT
- Be clear that you’re making a complaint.
- When putting your complaint in writing, be clear about the main issues, use bullet points to explain.
- If possible, provide the water company or retailer with a timeline and any evidence to support your complaint.
- Be clear about what you are expecting to be done and what your desired outcome is. For example, do you expect and apology or an action, such as the company visiting your address to investigate a problem or a bill to be revised?
- Remember to raise all of your points. If you provide new information or add a new issue later in the process, the company has the right to consider that separately, as a new complaint, which can delay the issue being resolved.
On behalf of our residents St Buryan Lamorna & Paul Parish Council are working hard to try to get action on the issue and recently wrote to:
- Cllr Thalia Marrington – REPLY RECEIVED and IS WORKING TO ADDRESS
- Andrew George MP
- Phil Mason – CC Strategic Director for Sustainable Growth and Development REPLY RECEIVED from assistant with advice that residents complain to SWW and OFWAT (the route is actually through SWW then CCW)
- Rachel Wigglesworth – CC Director of Public Health AUTO REPLY RECEIVED and email forwarded
- Cllr Oliver Monk – Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing
- Angela Rayner MP – Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government AUTO REPLY RECEIVED and online form submitted
- Matthew Pennycook MP – Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government AUTO REPLY RECEIVED and online form submitted
- Steve Reed – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Robert Lacey – CC Planning Policy lead
- The Environment Agency
St Buryan Lamorna & Paul Parish Council letter to recipients above
Planning Permission was granted for Tower Meadows with the condition that a separate sewage treatment area was provided for the 17 additional dwellings given that a sewage embargo existed at that time until the sewage farm at Pendrea was given a major upgrade.
No such upgrade has taken place although a number of low level and ineffective interventions have been undertaken.
The village now finds itself in the situation whereby a further 150+ dwellings have been constructed in the past 25 years with catastrophic and predictable consequences.
Despite this problem the decision was taken to REMOVE the Tower Meadow Treatment Works in order to construct 48 additional properties at Meadow Rise, some of which were built over the area of the previous sewage system.
The removal of the sewage collection area resulted in immediate relocation of the huge number of rats who had previously lived there.
Tower Meadows was the first area that reported problems; residents there called in pest control which resulted in transference of the rat population to The Green, then Lisbon Terrace, then Tower Villa, then Galligan Lane and the wider village. There is now cyclic movement of the rat population throughout the whole village; dead rats are routinely found on roads and in properties all over the village.
The presence of any species found to have been killed on a road indicates a large population of the creatures in that area.
Penwith District Council – St Buryan Conservation Area Statement 1990
St Buryan Conservation Area Statement 1993
The Parish Council do not believe that any more houses should be built until there is an upgrade in the sewerage infrastructure at St Buryan.
We have an open complaint with SWW and have requested a copy of their operating permit from the Environment Agency.
