Northumberland’s Councillor Hill Calls Council Leaders Bluff?

Spital Beach, described by the Leader of Northumberland County Council, Glen Sanderson as a ‘Jewel in the Crown’ has been named one of 83 beaches in the country which has been deemed unsafe because of raw sewage being dumped into the sea.

At the last full Council meeting on 22nd March 2023 Councillor Georgina Hill from Berwick East Ward which contains Spital Beach explained the problems of raw sewage being dumped on the beach as well as stating that “this wasn’t the first time”!

Her follow-up question to Councillor Sanderson was "Does the council have plans to take this up with the local water company and/ or the Government?"

The Leader of Council replied "The council is working with the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water on water quality issues."

Councillor Hill smiled sweetly and sat down, ‘the net was cast’?

An alert from the environment agency covered a number of Northumberland’s tourist beaches, Spittal Beach near Berwick, while Northumberland's Warkworth, Amble Links, Druridge Bay and Blyth South were also affected by the alert.

In parliament the government faced an amendment from the house of Lords that may have stopped sewage dumping but it also may have also reduced the huge income investors receive from Water Companies annually and have done so since it was privatised by the Tories in 1989.

“Lords Amendment 45 to the ‘Environment Bill’ would have placed a legal duty on water companies in England and Wales “to make improvements to their sewerage systems and demonstrate progressive reductions in the harm caused by discharges of untreated sewage.” 

“Despite the horrendous environmental impact of the disgusting practice, shortly before the vote, the Conservative Environment Secretary George Eustice recommended to his fellow MPs that they should reject it.” And, owing largely to the government’s 80 seat majority, the amendment was indeed defeated – by a margin of 268 MPs to 204.”

Where does this leave Councillor Sanderson? As in 1974 whether he likes to be reminded or not Councils were left with environmental public health falling into two of the law’s distinct domains, Health Protection and Health Improvement. Both of these domains contain issues that are certainly in the public interest when it comes to dumping raw sewage into the North Sea. A sea where proud Northumbriand fishermen harvest its contents and sell them for human consumption including Berwicks famous Tweed Salmon caught under license, to a food industry hiding behind an image of cleanliness driven by countless televised shows portraying the Counties beauty. 

The lack of protecting the public from the reality of the situation must put Councillor Sanderson’s Council behind the nine ball and he must now ensure he backs up his staff against his Government and prosecutes the backsides off the investors in his local water company whom his Conservative Government protected in spite of Tory peers supporting the stated amendment in the House of Lords.

Councillor Sanderson needs to ensure his household insurance covers him to seek top class legal advice as Councillor Hills brilliant move will shine a light on the drab tweed wearing Tory Group at County Hall as they possibly do nothing but publish rhetoric surrounding what should be a test case of a Conservative led Council putting its own Government’s practice of ‘Money First! People, what do they matter?’ to the sword through the Courts.

We will watch Councillor Hill's next move on the matter with baited breath as if she plays her cards right Councillor Sanderson's minority administration may have to resign and go to the polls.