Southern Water Stakeholder Group

Wealden District Council co-ordinates the Southern Water Local Authority Stakeholder Group, bringing together representatives from more than 20 councils across the South East, from Folkestone & Hythe to the New Forest. The Group focuses on foul water (sewage and wastewater) issues, providing a cross-party forum for local authorities to work collectively and hold Southern Water, and its regulators, to account over these issues and their impact on our waterways, coastline and communities.

The Group was established following a range of longstanding concerns, including flooding, sewage entering homes, gardens and roads, discharges into rivers and waterways, and the capacity of wastewater infrastructure to accommodate additional development. It also followed Wealden District Council’s July 2022 Full Council motion calling for better quality information from Southern Water when considering planning matters.

Since its inception, the Group has met regularly and has heard from organisations including Southern Water, the Environment Agency and Ofwat, as well as Government Ministers. A smaller Working Group, comprising representatives from across the county areas, also meets to develop shared priorities and areas of focus, which are then reported back to the main Stakeholder Group.

This webpage provides a central record of the Group’s work, including minutes and presentations from Stakeholder Group and Working Group meetings, correspondence with Government and Ministers and relevant press releases. It also provides a link to the Wealden and Southern Water Foul Drainage Framework, which sets out the agreed approach to foul drainage in constrained catchments.